Total Eclipse
by RunsWithScizors
Summary: Not long after arriving in Alola, aspiring scientist Diana gets sent out on an assignment. Teaming up with a haunted Pokedex and her cousin Eli, who is a scientific mystery himself, she finds herself at the center of a conflict that could end entire worlds. Luckily, Diana doesn't know fear. (Moon version. Non-canon player names. Plenty of shipping fuel.)
1. Doom Bringer Diana

**Over seven years ago, two siblings dedicated their lives to writing affectionate parodies of Pokémon games. The brother is the chief writer, in control of the outlines, end teams, which villain songs get parodied, most of the jokes, and posting. The sister is in charge of editing, doing the 'write-a-chapter-in-a-week' work when they fall behind, and starting the villain songs. We love what we do, and more importantly, other people love what we do. It's worth the writer's headaches and the editor's constant anxiety attacks to make people happy.**

**We decided against using "Elio" and "Selene" for the characters for two reasons. First, we don't like those names for the characters. Second, we had a toddler named Diana in our Kanto story for a joke, and one of our readers guessed she'd be the hero of Alola. We decided "why not." As for taking off a letter for Eli's new name, the Ace Attorney jokes would overshadow everything else if we'd named him Apollo.**

**As for another decision involving Eli, and Diana to an extent, it was a single joke that took on a life of its own. Like Wallace's redesign or Lysandre's shipping habits.**

**Now, on to the story.**

Ever since she was small, Diana had a hard time fitting in.

She'd had a fascination with the unusual side of Pokémon since she was a toddler, and as she got older, it had changed to a desire to be a scientist. Her first babysitter had been a Pokedex carrier, and her second had been the sidekick to one. They had given her the kick she needed to choose this path, though not quite in the way they had hoped, when they had read the entries and Diana had questioned all of them, on the grounds that observing a single specimen was hardly a scientific study. They had reacted appropriately to hearing that from a six-year-old, but Diana had questioned Santa at age four, so her mother really should have warned them. It hadn't made her any friends in the Kanto schools.

Of course, she was only one branch on a family tree of strange. She had seen enough to know that there was enough evidence that the Alolan side of her family sounded like a witch coven from her Halloween movies. She'd seen her mother find six four-leaf clovers in a single afternoon in their own front yard, she'd watched her grandmother calm a wild Gyarados without catching it, heard stories of her aunt predicting the weather better than the weatherman, and her great-uncle surviving six different natural disasters. Even her cousin, a boy she had seen in person just once in her life, was cursed by it, though she didn't believe 'curse' to be literal, even in his case.

He believed they were a family of alien-human hybrids, he told her in their last phone conversation. "It's the only explanation that makes sense. We all have names connecting us to the sky, or almost did in my case, and freaky talents. The alien part is just super-dominant."

She'd get to a logical explanation for those abilities, she told herself, but first, she wanted to make a public claim against the Pokedex. And she'd start with Professor Kukui in the Alola region. He'd offered her a place as his assistant, and had laughed and accepted her challenge when she told him her goals.

Her parents would have to finish their business in Kanto before the move could be complete, so she'd be staying with her aunt and uncle until then. But her parents cared enough to drop her off at the airport with boxes of her stuff that the movers would take care of, her mother's Meowth to keep her company, and wishes for good luck in her sciencing.

No one told her when Kukui replaced her, because he forgot to tell anybody.

* * *

Diana's mother, Luna, had an identical twin who had never left Alola. Aunt Stella was everything that Luna wasn't – focused, organized, and had only accidentally left her child at the store once. So, as Diana and Meowth stepped off the plane onto Hau'oli City ground, they knew she would be there waiting for them.

She didn't expect that Stella would bring her son with her. Diana approached them, suddenly nervous around her own family.

"Um…hi?"

Was that too informal for relatives you were temporarily moving in with? She'd been so excited about her position at Kukui's lab that she'd forgotten to look up the local culture. Her mother had told her stories about ancient wars involving Pokémon called Tapu, and that they didn't have Gyms like they did in Kanto, but other than that…

Luckily, her aunt laughed it off. "The proper term is 'Alola,' Diana," she pointed out. "But I can forgive you because we're still at the airport." She saw something over Diana's shoulder, and immediately switched to seriousness. "Eli! Put your poking stick away!"

Diana spun around just in time to see her cousin lower the stick he had in his hands. "I was just going to check to see if it was Diana or a Ditto," he complained, and Diana crossed her arms angrily.

"You really think that I could be a DITTO? Can a Ditto impersonating a human SPEAK?"

"You never know," Eli said, even as he followed his mother's order. "There's that one TV show with a talking Meowth."

Diana wasn't impressed with his logic. "Wasn't that the same one where an Onix got defeated by turning on a sprinkler and setting a Pikachu after it?"

Eli went silent. "I forgot that it started in Kanto," he finally said. Then he reached down to pet the Meowth at her feet. "You, I can deal with no matter what you are. Glad to know your trainer's my cousin after all."

"I'm technically not his trainer," Diana said, as Meowth looked amused at the suggestion. "I don't have a Pokémon yet."

"I don't, either. Something about the Kahuna not trusting me after what happened at last year's tribute battle."

"Kahuna?" She'd never heard of a Kahuna before. "Don't you go and get a Pokémon from a professor, or catch one out in your backyard?"

"Professor Kukui doesn't have much to do with giving out Pokémon," Eli explained as they started to the car. "This isn't Kanto."

Diana nodded along, taking plenty of notes – she didn't want to seem uneducated when she showed up at the lab, after all.

* * *

Stella stopped off to show Diana, Meowth, and the movers that followed them Diana's future home, and the girl ended the conversation to follow them in. Meowth followed her, curiosity winning over laziness. The Machoke carrying a marked box stopped, but continued when the girl smiled innocently.

Once everyone was gone, she dug through the box until she found her mother's camera, and immediately turned it on and started filming herself.

"Hi, Mom and Dad," she said with a smile. "I promised you a full view of everything I got up to in Alola until you get to leave Kanto, so I'm going to carry this thing around with me everywhere!" She moved the camera around the room. "Once I get my bed set up, it should be pretty decent in here. But my decorating skills aren't what this is about. This is the video diary I'm making to introduce you to all the new friends Meowth and I are making!" She moved the camera around the empty room to make a point. "Aren't we so lucky to have all these people with us? I guess I'll turn it off for now so something can get done!"

She did switch it off, but didn't immediately leave. "So this is it, huh, Meowth? Kind of empty, isn't it?"

Meowth did not want to give in to the obvious trap for drama. **"Come on, kid. This is not the usual style."**

Diana didn't have a chance to attempt to translate, because at that moment, the door opened. Diana stopped to think about what battle moves Meowth knew, and if he'd listen to her when she had no badges, but then she heard her cousin chatting with somebody.

"Eli?" she called uncertainly, and there was a pause.

"There she is! I told you, Professor!"

Professor? Diana stuck her head out of the room, camera still in hand, as Eli, Stella, and Professor Kukui himself made their appearance. Kukui had a phone in his hand.

"You are Diana Freeman, right?"

"Right…"

"It's your mom." He handed it over. Diana smiled, hoping to pass on a silent 'thank you,' and braced herself.

"Hi, Mom. The professor found me. Is something wrong?"

"You didn't answer your phone!" her mother complained.

"Yeah, I realized halfway here that I left it on the box pile that's still in my old room. Don't worry, I have your camera instead. I'm making a video diary to show you and Dad everything that's happening."

Luna sighed in relief. "Well, I'm glad you got there safely. Eli hasn't…done anything yet, has he?"

Diana looked past the professor just in time to see the barely-plugged-in toaster catch on fire, followed by her cousin and aunt extinguishing it easily.

"Yes," she said. "But they're taking care of it."

That was Eli's branch of strange – spontaneous fire generation. Luna had said that he was either a Fire-type human or being haunted by a ghost with a very specific vendetta. Diana called it Eli's Law, because anything that can catch fire, will catch fire sooner or later. Eli called it a side effect of his alien heritage. Whatever it was, without the Xavier Institute, he had no idea how it worked or how to turn it off, so the next best thing was to be prepared at all times.

"And you did pack your…" Luna lowered her voice, "_special undergarments, _right?"

Diana's face turned bright red. "Mom! What if Eli's right and people spy on these calls?"

"Right, right, sorry!" She did sound sorry, so Diana didn't push it. "Anyway, Professor Kukui told me that he talked to the Kahuna, and that he said he'd let you choose your own Pokémon! Isn't that great?"

"Really?"

"Really really." Diana could hear her mom's smile. "So give the phone back to its owner! I'll get yours, and you'd better get a video of you and your new Pokémon in that video diary of yours, ok?"

"Ok!" Diana was grateful that the conversation had drifted from underwear, special or otherwise. And a Pokémon of her own? She hadn't been expecting that. "Bye, Mom!"

She turned it off and handed it back to the professor. He grinned. "I take it from your sudden excitement that she told you our plan?"

Diana nodded. "I'm getting a Pokémon. And does Eli get one, too?"

Kukui's face fell. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," he said, and Diana looked back at the now-extinguished toaster.

"But a Water-type might be good for him," she pointed out.

"Good point," Kukui decided. "I'll call Hala and see if he has any to spare."

"Really?" Stella was even more surprised than Eli to overhear that bit. "Hala's really going to let my boy have a Pokémon?"

"You sound like you don't think I can be a trainer," Eli objected.

"Eli, I love you, but I don't want to let you loose on the unsuspecting island." She gave her niece a pointed look. "Or you, Miss Science."

"But it's for research, Aunt Stella!" Diana pouted. "Pretty please!"

"Please, Mom!" Eli begged. "I've never set anything living on fire before! The closest I ever got was Hau's shirt!"

Stella looked at Kukui for help, but gave in almost immediately. "Fine," she said, "but keep catching to a minimum - the house only has so much space."

If she'd known what the kids would get into, she probably would have fought harder. But with Eli and Diana only eleven years old, she decided that nothing more intense than the local challenge was ahead of them.

She'd be wrong, but every other aunt and mother in the region said that that was the worst that had happened to the kids in their lives. And she trusted that the kids wouldn't face more trouble than a carefully supervised Island Challenge.

She would have been right, if Kukui and Hala had been the only ones in charge of what these particular kids would get into.

* * *

Diana and Eli followed the directions Kukui gave them, sure that he knew where he was going. Eli might have known, but it was clear that he was not exactly trusted by the Kahuna. With his history, Diana couldn't blame him.

Meowth decided to stay in the house and guard the stuff, or maybe hoard it. Either way, Diana figured robbers wouldn't bother. Unless there was a Fighting-type who knew that Kanto Meowth was Normal-type, nothing would happen.

They found Kukui talking to a younger kid, about six or seven years old, promising a battle next time the kid's Pokémon learned a new move. Diana almost asked to see the kid's Pokémon herself, but Kukui distracted her before she could think of how.

"How are you liking Alola so far, Diana?"

"I just got here," she pointed out.

"But you'll be spending a lot of time here," he said, and she was forced to agree. "You should at least like it a little bit."

"It's a pretty place," Diana admitted. "And it'll be fun hanging out with a kid my own age for once."

"And battle with our actual Pokémon," Eli added.

"Yeah, that too." She took a few more steps, then spoke up again. "Where are we going, exactly?"

It wasn't the professor that answered, but Eli. "Iki Town. It's where my house is, and the Kahuna's. And people worship the Pokémon that watches over us here, too."

"You still believe Pokémon are gods?" Diana knew that some people did, but she thought most of the population believed that anything that could be captured with a little bit of effort couldn't be more than powerful monsters. "It's still a dominant religion?"

"Tapu Koko keeps us safe on the island," Kukui said seriously. "And it gets really mad if you don't take part in ancient rituals. We figure keeping it happy is better than facing its wrath, divine or otherwise."

Diana fell silent. She refused to believe that a giant horse in a horn skirt created the world, but believing that an ancient, powerful Pokémon protected an island actually made sense. "So what does this Kahuna guy look like, anyway?"

"The Kahuna?" Kukui's serious expression dropped, and he returned to his friendly smile. "You can't miss him! He looks just like a kahuna!"

Diana rolled her eyes. "Well, that's helpful."

"Don't worry." Eli looked proud of himself. "I've been friends with the guy's grandson since we were in diapers! We've got this!"

Diana dug around in her bag and pulled out the camera, then switched it back on. "I'm in Iki Town right now, looking for the kahuna to give me a Pokémon! I have my cousin with me, and he's going to get one, too, against the professor's better judgement."

"I have a track record!" Eli added happily, butting into his cousin's shot.

"Don't worry, though," Diana added with a laugh. "He only set one thing on fire since I got here! A Water-type sounds perfect for him! Now all we have to do is…"

She trailed off when Eli led her closer to a bridge. He prepared to turn, but Diana stopped him. There was someone already there, and that person had a twitching bag.

"I think I just found my next project," she said quietly. "I'll learn why that thing is moving!"

"Maybe she's a jewel thief," Eli suggested. "She could be holding her recent 'additions' in there, and the Pokémon she has guarding them is complaining that they're poking it in the eye."

Diana grinned and turned off the camera. "Only one way to find out," she teased, and started walking to the girl, and towards her fate.


	2. Horrible Decisions

**Diana has a high Intelligence stat, but she's always rolling 2s in Wisdom.**

The girl was faster than they were, especially when they took a detour for Eli to point out the kahuna's house. Since he didn't appear to be home, that left the two without Pokémon. Diana decided that the kahuna would probably be home by the time they got back, and started up the path.

"Where do you think they were going?" she asked her cousin, and he shrugged.

"The only thing up this far is Tapu Koko's ruins," he explained. "My parents never let me play up here. I'm not allowed on sacred ground."

Diana understood some of that. Her parents wouldn't let her go into ruins, either. But their parents weren't here, and rules were made for breaking. But she said nothing, because she'd seen the girl again, and started running forward, excitement making her heart pound even more than the exercise. She didn't know what was going to happen if she went too far into the ruins. Would she stop a jewel thief? Would Tapu Koko strike her down? Would she make a friend? Would she make friends with a jewel thief and Tapu Koko and get a cut of the shiny objects in the bag?

_I should probably stop thinking like that,_ Diana told herself. _I don't want to get my hopes too high. I'll probably need to do some of the work to get some of the payoff._

She couldn't hear Eli anymore. She must have lost him, or he stopped to put out another fire. But she found the entrance to the ruins, and what she saw was something that not even she expected.

The Pokémon that popped out of the girl's bag was nothing Diana had ever seen before. It was too small and sparkly to be Tapu Koko, but Diana had read that the ancient guardians were Fairy-type. She could have been wrong.

As she watched, the strange Pokémon floated down the bridge, singing a song to itself, and obliviously entered a small circle of Spearow.

The girl shrieked in horror, but didn't charge headfirst after it. That part was Diana's job, it seemed.

Her mother had always told her that her dedication to science was going to get her killed one day, but Diana had always had trouble grasping what was and was not safe science. It had led her to injury a few times - the time she saw a Charmander survive having its tail accidentally drenched had led to her walking up to it when it was angry, which left her with cuts. Then there was the Nidoran Incident, and now a new Pokémon that she'd never seen before had appeared, and she was going to touch it no matter what it took.

So, she picked up a fallen branch, let out a Tarzan yell without the irritating chest-pounding, and charged across an old, broken bridge, straight at the Spearow.

"Don't hit Nebby!" the strange Pokémon's trainer called, and Diana barely had time to think that Nebby was a stupid name before a Spearow went for her eye.

Furious, Diana swung the branch like a baseball bat, catching the Spearow off guard. It froze midair, a split second before the branch hit. Diana was so surprised that she'd actually hit what she aimed for that she dropped the branch, just in time for the downed Spearow to return, and convince its friends to turn their full rage on her.

Realizing that her only weapon had fallen between the cracks, Diana went for Plan B. She dropped down to shield the Pokémon (she refused to use the name its trainer had used) and wished that the kahuna had given her a Pokémon of her own _before _she'd pulled this stupid stunt.

The next thing she knew, the Pokémon had lit up and charged a Teleport, breaking the bridge right as Eli's arrival was announced by both ends combusting.

She heard the girl scream again, and she heard her cousin call her name, but she couldn't reach the bridge or let go of Nebby. So, accepting her fate, she glared down at the Pokémon in her arms.

"So this is what it's like to deal with me," she said, mildly impressed despite her annoyance. "I'd hate to deal with me."

But before they could die, or Nebby could actually teleport them somewhere solid, a Pokémon appeared from a ball of lightning, shot down, and saved them.

Nebby was not Tapu Koko, Diana suddenly understood. THIS was Tapu Koko. And, as it let them down in front of the other two children, the looks on both faces proved exactly what had happened was not a dying dream.

Tapu Koko left as suddenly as it appeared, leaving Diana holding Nebby. It must have assumed that it was her Pokémon. Diana waited until the island's protector was gone, and turned to get a good look at the trainer.

Her first thought was that the other girl was pretty. Long blonde hair, perfect skin…and green eyes. Diana had always thought green was the prettiest eye color, and the supposed jewel thief had the prettiest shade. Diana was aware that she was on the cute side of average, and she suddenly felt like an awkward potato in front of her.

_Ok...jealousy. New thing for me. Not sure I like it._

The blonde tilted her head, jolting Diana out of her thoughts, and she realized she'd been staring. Well, that was even more awkward.

"Here," she said, holding out Nebby. "Your Pokémon."

"You can call it Nebby," the girl said.

"No, I really can't."

Nebby jumped from Diana's arms, picking something up in its mouth and handing it to its trainer. She took it, confused, and pulled a magnifying glass out of the bag Nebby had been trapped in. "I have no idea what this is," she announced after a moment. She looked back at Diana, holding it out. "This is yours, right? Do you know what it is?"

"It's not mine," Diana said with a shrug, "but it's sparkly, so I'll take it."

"And please don't tell anyone about Nebby," the trainer added. "Either of you. It could be disastrous."

"Will Nebby kill us?" Eli asked.

"No! Nebby would never…" she looked down at her Pokémon, who made an innocent 'pew' sound. "Not on purpose, anyway."

Nebby made the sound again and hopped back into the bag.

Eli looked from one girl to the other, then offered his hand to the blonde. "We can go back to town together," he decided, hoping that she didn't know about his reputation. He wanted to make friends, after all, and if a friend was this pretty...well, could you blame him? "What's your name, anyway?"

"My name? It's Lillie."

Lillie. Such a pretty name. It almost made Diana sad to put it on the revenge list.

But Lillie had named her Pokémon Nebby, so she had more than one thing to answer for.

* * *

"Hey!" Kukui's voice called from the other side of the central battlefield. "Looks like you missed the kahuna! But you found my assistant!"

"Assistant?" Diana looked over at Lillie again. "But I was supposed to be the assistant! That's the whole reason I came to Alola without my parents!" She glared at the professor, and Lillie shivered. "You promised months ago!"

"And that was when my wife found Lillie," Kukui explained. "A lab can have more than one assistant, yeah? You and Lillie can work together."

"But…" Diana couldn't find the right objection. All she could do was cross her arms over her chest and sulk.

Luckily for her, an old man entered the scene at that moment. From the hushed whispers all around, he was clearly the kahuna of the island. Diana stopped sulking at the sight of his mustache, and heard Eli mutter something about not being able to wait until he started getting facial hair.

"You could never pull that off," she told him, and he hit her on the shoulder.

The kahuna stopped in front of the small group of children. "So," he said slowly, "which of you destroyed the bridge?"

"Me, probably," said Eli, even as both of the girls pointed at each other. So, of course, that confession was what the kahuna noticed.

"Eli Frost. What a surprise." He pulled a phone from his pocket and dialed the fire department. "This is Kahuna Hala. I need someone to take care of a fire at the Ruins of Conflict. The bridge…" he took a moment to look at Eli. "It's been Eli'd."

"Eli'd?" Diana repeated, as Lillie took a step away from the boy.

Eli shrugged, used to it by now. "It's something that's been going around at my school," he explained. "Even the other grades do it now. Hala probably learned it from Hau."

"What caught on fire when it started?"

Eli groaned in embarrassment. "My pants."

"Let's forget how it started," Hala interrupted. "I'm sorry for using it. Now, can anyone tell me if that was really Tapu Koko that I saw?"

"It was," Lillie confirmed. She gestured to Diana. "She went in to save Nebby, but Tapu Koko ended up saving both of them."

"Did it?" Hala laughed. "Well, then! Since there's no doubt that Tapu Koko put out the fire on the bridge, it looks like this girl deserves her very own Pokémon!"

Diana glared at Kukui. "You mean you lied to me about that, too? Did he not know I was coming?"

Hala stopped, suddenly realizing just who this girl was. "Oh! So you're the Diana that everybody was talking about! The one who challenged the Pokedex."

Diana's anger faded a little. "That's right. I came here from Kanto to study with Professor Kukui himself, but then he replaced me."

"I got you a partner," Kukui objected.

Hala cleared his throat, and both of them shut up. "While the organization of your lab staff is a topic the three of you need to work out, we were in the middle of getting this young lady her Pokémon." Diana noticed now that he had three Pokeballs in his hand. "Come out, my Pokémon!"

Diana couldn't stop the squeak of happiness as she saw how cute the options all were. An owl, a kitty, and an absolutely ridiculous seal-thing stared back expectantly.

"First we have the Grass-type, Rowlet," Hala said, gesturing to the owl. "Then there's the Fire-type, Litten. Finally, the Water-type, Popplio."

"Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio…" Diana whispered, leaning over. "How am I supposed to choose?"

A second Litten suddenly crawled out from under the platform, looked around, and launched itself at Kukui's face. The professor did not seem surprised by this. "Maybe you can pick Popplio?" he suggested hopefully.

"Nope!" Diana pointed to Rowlet. "I don't want to stop this. I want _that_ one!"

"Of course you do," Kukui grumbled as the Litten crawled into his lab coat. "I guess it's back to the rehab room at the lab for this little guy, then." The Litten protested and rubbed its face on Kukui's shoulder. "Hey, once you stop escaping every time I take you somewhere, you can see as much of the world as you want."

"I'll take Hala's Litten," Eli added.

"But it's a Fire-type, Eli. Wouldn't you want a Popplio?"

"I live in Alola," Eli said bluntly. "I can catch a Water-type myself."

"So it's a deal," Diana said, and reached for the Rowlet. "I take this Rowlet, Eli takes the Litten, and the Popplio can wait until someone else picks it."

"That's only if the Pokémon choose you as you chose them," Hala clarified. When Diana gave him a blank look, he laughed. "I know that in other regions, the professors just hand over Pokémon and bonds form after the Pokémon is stuck with its trainer. Here in Alola, we give them a choice."

The Rowlet screeched and flew up to Diana, sitting on her foot and giving Hala the same glare that its new trainer had given the professor. Diana grinned and picked it up, so proud of her new partner already. "I'd say Rowlet made up its mind, wouldn't you?"

"His mind," was all Hala said about it. "That Rowlet is a boy. They all are."

As for the Litten, he looked over at Eli in uncertainty, before looking up at the professor. Eli didn't notice, and reached for Litten carefully. Then Litten seemed to agree with the decision, and hopped into the boy's arms.

"He's _purring,_" Eli whispered in surprise.

"Good. Put your chaotic firebending energy into keeping him happy." Diana turned her Rowlet around. "Hey, Mr. Kahuna?"

"Hala is acceptable, too," Hala reminded her.

"Yeah, Hala. Can I give Rowlet a nickname, or is that different here, too?"

"You can give a Pokémon a nickname." Eli looked down at his Litten proudly. "Right, Robbie?"

Robbie purred again, then coughed up a flaming hairball. Like trainer, like Pokémon...

Diana decided that she'd need to get used to that if she was going to stay here in Alola. She pretended it didn't happen, and looked back at Rowlet. "So…what do you say to Stanford?" she suggested.

**"Stanford?" **Rowlet thought about it. **"It's kind of a nerd name, isn't it? But it's also kind of cool…you know what? Yeah, I'll take it!"**

Diana understood the happy chirp, and Hala gave the kids the Pokeballs belonging to their new partners. Then Kukui stepped in.

"I might not have told you about Lillie," he told Diana, "but I did plan on giving you something she wouldn't have. A trainer passport and a Pokedex might make up for that betrayal." His smile alone challenged her as he handed over the device in question. "That is your field of interest, yeah?"

Diana stuck out her tongue. Kukui laughed, understanding the gesture as 'Challenge accepted.' Eli called Robbie back into his ball and turned to his cousin.

"Well, Mom's waiting." He spun her around and pointed down the trail. "And we have a big day tomorrow! Dad set up a mattress for you in my room! You did bring fireproof clothes, right?"


	3. An Easy Confrontation

**Diana's first battle, and the revelation of her own version of the family weirdness.**

They made it all of four steps before a boy showed up. He was about their age, with an absolutely ridiculous hairstyle and a Popplio flopping along at his feet. Diana wondered what he wanted, and her question was answered before she could ask.

"Hey, you! Battle me!"

"Hey, Hau," Eli greeted, and Diana immediately focused more on this boy. So this was the kahuna's grandson? He didn't look as impressive as his grandfather, but he clearly had the potential to be.

"Hey, Eli!" It appeared that Hau had forgotten the battle challenge already, and that he was already friends with her cousin. "What's up?"

"My cousin arrived from Kanto, we each got a Pokémon…" Eli shrugged. "Basic Alola stuff."

"Huh?" Hau turned to Diana, who was suddenly very uncomfortable. "You're the cousin from Kanto? The one who challenged the Pokedex?"

"Um, yeah?" Diana cleared her throat, hoping to take the surprise out of it. She hadn't known that Eli had told anyone that she was coming, or what she did. "That's me."

"Then you're the one I want to battle!" Hau declared. Popplio jumped up in agreement. "Come on, it's another entry for the Pokedex!"

"I really don't think that's a good idea." She tapped Stanford's ball. "I picked Rowlet. You'd stand a better chance against Eli."

"But _you_ won't set Popplio on fire." Hau immediately reconsidered that statement, and stood protectively in front of Popplio. "Hey…you're part of his family. What's your freaky power?"

Diana hated this question. She'd never done anything particularly interesting, not even the more common abilities of psychics and mediums. Her true skill was with books and homework, not something that could make her one of the X-Men. "The cold never bothers me," she answered, deciding to just be honest instead of intimidating him. "Or heat, really. I can feel it, but I never get uncomfortable. Eli's the only one who can put people in danger."

"I don't know about that last part," Hau said carefully. "I've seen Frozen. Elsa can cause serious damage."

"I have also seen Frozen," Diana stated. "I don't freeze anything I touch."

"Maybe it's because you have limited experience with your emotions," Eli suggested. "Once we get that ice around your heart melted…"

"I'd love to see you try." She picked up Stanford's ball, holding it out pointedly and focusing only on Hau. "Well? You asked for a battle, right? Let's get it started."

Stanford won. It didn't even surprise Hau.

* * *

As soon as Diana had dried Stanford off, he escaped her grasp and dug around in her backpack, removing the sparkling stone she got from Tapu Koko. Ignoring his new trainer calling him a thief, he flew over to Hala and dropped it into his hand.

Hala stared at it, his face unreadable. "What is this?"

"It's_ mine,"_ Diana stated, holding out her hand for it. "Tapu Koko gave it to me when it saved me!"

Which, technically speaking, might have been a lie. But _Lillie_ had given it to her, and since Lillie seemed like a person a guardian Pokémon would potentially give a gift to, she was sure it was ok to claim it was hers.

"Tapu Koko itself gave you this?" Hala looked at the stone again, and laughed. "Well, would you look at that! Miss Freeman...you've been chosen!"

"Chosen?" Hau repeated, disappointed. "Does this mean she's gonna be the next kahuna for our island?"

"I was born in Kanto!" Diana protested. "I can't be a kahuna!"

"It's not necessarily a kahuna choice," Hala promised. "Tapu Koko won't make that decision until I'm gone, and that's years away. But I might have to borrow this stone." Diana opened her mouth again, but Hala stopped her before she could speak. "I'll give it back tomorrow evening. But you're here in Alola for a reason. I can help you with whatever that reason is, but you need to let me borrow this stone."

"But...it's shiny..."

"Diana," Kukui interrupted, "you're sleeping on an air mattress in your aunt's house. Meowth would be guarding your house, and it might steal your shiny rock. Do you really want that to happen?"

"No."

"Then give the man the rock."

Diana gave the man the rock. Hala put it in his pocket and promised her its safe return.

And Eli picked up his Litten and asked the poor thing to teach him how to control the fires.

* * *

Lillie and the professor escorted the kids to Eli's house, where they introduced his parents to Stanford and Robbie. Eli's dad, fittingly, was head of the local fire department, and reacted with just as much horror as his wife when he'd seen what his son had brought home, and what Diana's choice of partner was incapable of stopping.

Of course, when Robbie put out the explosion from the lamp, Eli got to watch his parents relax. Even if the first instinct of the new Fire-type of the house was to eat it.

When Diana stared at the ceiling of Eli's room from her air mattress, she thought over her day. The professor had betrayed her, but it didn't seem like it was anything personal. She supposed she could give him and Lillie a second chance...but if he blew that one, then she'd have to destroy him.

"Diana?"

Her cousin's voice broke through her thoughts, and she flipped over to look at him. Their Pokémon were sleeping outside the balls, in a heap on the floor, and Stanford opened one eye as the sound from her movement woke him. She ignored it. "What?"

"Do you think Tapu Koko really chose you to be the next kahuna?"

"You heard Hala," she pointed out. "The next kahuna won't be chosen until after he's gone, and I'm assuming he means dead instead of retiring in Hoenn or something."

"What if Hala's a ghost, though?"

Diana fought a sigh of exasperation. "Hala...a ghost." She couldn't keep it out of her voice, unfortunately, but Eli didn't seem to notice.

"Tapu Koko doesn't like to get involved with human stuff," he explained. "It takes care of Pokémon, and the humans that are good to Pokémon are tolerated. Why would it save you when you smacked a Spearow like a baseball?"

"Because I saved...Lillie's Pokémon." She still couldn't bring herself to say "Nebby." It was such a stupid name, and she was going to talk Lillie into changing that nickname if it killed her.

"That's a possible reason," he decided, "but is it LIKELY?"

"It's more likely than Hala being dead."

"Is it?" Eli flipped over onto his back, and Diana followed his lead. "He's old, you know."

"Not much older than our own grandparents. They haven't died, right?"

"No. Still in Hau'oli City."

"And did Hala look sick the last time you saw him?"

"Uh...no."

"Then he's probably alive, and Tapu Koko decided to save me because it didn't want to clean my brains out of its sacred area." Diana flipped onto her other side, facing away from Eli. "Unless you can think of actual evidence to support your claims."

He just started snoring, which was all the answer she needed.


	4. Ignore the Expert

**I don't understand why the catching tutorials aren't optional.**

Diana took her Rowlet to her own house to check up on Meowth the next day, but as she was scooping out the food, Professor Kukui showed up without being invited.

"Hey, Diana! Meowth! I'm coming in!"

"Not by the fur on Meowth's cute little chin," Diana muttered under her breath, hearing the door open anyway. She followed Meowth out to greet him, hoping her irritation at the trespassing was clear.

If it was, Kukui pretended it wasn't. "I just thought I should come and remind you that you and your cousin said you'd come to the festival tonight."

"We did?" Diana honestly couldn't remember agreeing to anything. "When?"

"Last night, when you gave Hala the stone! He said he'd give it back to you today."

"I remember the part about my rock, but I can't remember anything about a festival."

Kukui put a hand behind his head, clearly a nervous behavior. "Well, Eli and Hau were getting excited about it. I assumed one of them would have filled you in on everything."

"Just like how you filled me in on the fact that you hired Lillie?"

"There were circumstances," Kukui said, in the tone adults always used when keeping secrets from children and ending the discussion. Diana had heard it a lot when she'd tried to find out where babies came from.

She could let that go for now. She'd be working _with_ Lillie, after all, provided she wasn't too distracted by Lillie's pretty face and the resulting 'feeling like a potato' inconvenience.

Maybe she should buy a nice dress, too, and a sparkly headband to match. That way both of them could be pretty science girls.

But shopping required money, and she wasn't sure where a clothing store was, and she wasn't sure if she could talk Aunt Stella into giving her the allowance her parents promised all at once.

She'd just have to be_ strong_ and smart instead.

"What's this festival thing supposed to be, anyway?" she asked, hoping the professor didn't notice that her current train of thought wasn't anywhere close to his last comment.

Kukui laughed. "Why don't you grab Stanford and Eli and meet me on Route 1, yeah?"

* * *

Diana didn't know what was planned, so she did as the professor told her. Professor Kukui was waiting for them, and when they arrived, he jumped right into teaching them how to catch a Pokémon. Since that was the most basic thing taught to preschoolers the second they showed interest in being a trainer, the cousins paid no attention to him and took the opportunity to have a conversation.

"What's the festival like?" Diana asked.

"Don't you have festivals in Kanto?"

"A lot of them," Diana answered without hesitation. "But we're not in Kanto, so I want to make sure I understand at least some of it. Is there a dress code?"

"No. Usually a bunch of people gather around a fire pit, two people are chosen for a ceremonial battle, and then I set the platform on fire and no battle actually happens."

"So why have they been doing it for the past eleven years?"

Eli grinned. "Because we only figured out it was my presence that triggered the fires three years ago."

"And they've been doing it the past three years because...?"

"Tapu Koko got cheesed off the last time the ceremonial battle was skipped intentionally and brought chaos and destruction to the island." He shrugged. "Last year they told me to run an errand while they did the battle, and I came back too soon. Dad was there to put it out, but those people left Alola and haven't come back."

Diana was silent for a long time. "Maybe you ARE cursed," she decided. "No one else in the family has ever had that lack of control over their abilities."

"I think it's because I don't have a sky name," Eli said seriously. "Mom wanted to name me Helios, but Dad hacked it apart. I think that's why I have uncontrolled fire powers instead of just higher body heat or something."

"In your dad's defense, a name like Helios Frost _would _get you bullied in school."

"Did you see that, kids?" Professor Kukui called suddenly.

Even though neither of them had actually seen it, they were both quick to agree.

And, as if lying was the trigger, the leg of Eli's pants caught on fire. He was surprisingly calm as he smothered it with the blanket in his bag.

* * *

Even though the professor gave them Pokeballs, neither of them bothered to catch anything. They had a lot of battles with wild Pokémon, and a few with other trainers, though at least one trainer gave Eli a lot of space. Diana ignored everything, thinking only of Stanford and what Pokémon he would be best partnered with.

"What kind of Pokémon live on this island?"

"Lots," Eli answered, "but not many you've seen, probably. We've got Growlithe! But we also have Cutiefly, Rockruff...you saw that one with the professor, actually...Rattata, Meowth…"

"I've seen Rattata and Meowth. My mom has a Meowth."

"You've seen the Kanto version. We have differences here in Alola." When she looked surprised, he laughed. "Didn't your mom warn you about that?"

"You've heard stories about my mom and her _legendary _planning skills, right?"

"Good point." Eli suddenly stopped, then looked straight ahead. "Well, this is as far as I'm allowed to go. Go ahead and win this battle, and get it on video."

Diana nodded, suddenly taking herself seriously. "Right."

She was armed with just a Rowlet. Still, her opponent couldn't be armed with more than two Pokémon, right?

Actually, knowing how her life in Alola had been so far...

She might as well say a prayer. It couldn't hurt anything.


	5. Tribute

**Last update, we were both sick and unable to add anything to the rough draft. This update, not only are both writers back to normal, we are now in charge of this story instead of just following cutscenes. From this point on, there will be comedy, and not just Eli setting stuff on fire. Though that is the setup for a joke, I can spoil that much.**

Diana entered the Iki Town festival alone.

Well, not alone - she had Stanford. Still, a Rowlet was not a good supervisor, and she would have preferred having Eli and Robbie with her. At least then the chaos was to be expected. Here, she didn't know how to even_ do_ chaos.

She saw couples walking with their arms linked. She saw grandmothers talking while their grandchildren played. She saw a boy and his Rockruff racing down the street.

And she saw Hala approaching her.

"Diana," he said, and she could sense the lecture coming. "Here in Alola, there are four islands. Each island has its own guardian Pokémon, worshipped in ancient times as gods."

"All regions have 'god' Pokémon," Diana pointed out. "Even in ancient Kanto, they used to worship Omastar and Kabutops as well as Mew and the legendary birds."

Hala let out a long breath, his mustache ruffling. "I ask you now to pretend you aren't an atheist for ten minutes and let Tapu Koko have its day in the spotlight, before it decides to kill us all."

Diana crossed her arms over her chest. "I never said I was atheist," she pointed out. "Scientists come from all religious beliefs, and mine says that _something_ created the world. I just don't think it was something that could be classified as a human, because we as a species are dumb, or a Pokémon, who can be captured in a four-inch sphere no matter what the size and power."

"Still," Hala said, "it wouldn't hurt to take part in Tapu Koko's festival, just for the night. You don't need to pray to it. Just don't vandalize the ruins."

"I would never vandalize the ruins," Diana objected, wondering what Kukui and Stella had been telling him. "Well...not without a reason."

"And yet, your aunt has given me a warning about the time you graffitied a butt onto your school in Kanto."

"It was on an abandoned building across from the school," she corrected, "and it wasn't a butt, it was a Butterfree that _looked _like a butt due to the fact that I barely passed my art class. That was a fourth-hand story, you should know better than to believe it exactly as you heard it."

Contrary to what she thought, that was not Hala's point. "What was the reason for the graffiti, Diana?"

"I wanted to lure out a Haunter."

"Why?"

"It stole my Kit Kat bar."

Hala almost said something else, but at the last minute, he decided that the conversation was too stupid to continue. This was a good thing, because it allowed his grandson to run up to them, Popplio bouncing along behind him.

"Diana! You didn't bring your cousin!" He didn't sound disappointed. Was this boy ever not happy?

"Did you not want Eli here?"

Hau actually stopped to consider. "It's not that I don't want him around," he said after a moment, "but it's a lot more work to have him here than to not have him here. Besides, my mom says I shouldn't hang out with him anymore, since last time I ended up losing a shirt and walking home part naked."

Diana could understand. "Smart mom," she decided. "So are we the chosen tributes, or what?"

"Tributes?" Hau repeated, confused.

Professor Kukui's laughter alerted Diana to the fact that he and Lillie had arrived. "This isn't the Hunger Games, Diana. It's just a battle ceremony."

Diana, who wanted to see what would happen if kids from every island had a huge non-fatal battle, couldn't contain her disappointment.

Hala stepped in to heal both Stanford and Popplio, and the two kids climbed to the platform as everybody gathered around.

"For all life on our islands," the kahuna began, "and for those who undertake the island challenge with joy in their hearts...we pray for your protection...for them and all of Melemele. May this Pokémon battle be an offering to our island's guardian deity - Tapu Koko!" The crowd cheered. Hala's mustache twitched with his smile. "Before you stands Hau, grandson to the kahuna. Across from him stands Diana - one who has met with Tapu Koko."

Diana felt their eyes on her, but she wasn't afraid. She could hear their whispers, and they were more impressed than anything else.

Hau's smile never left his face. "We'll make this battle something to remember, right, Diana?"

Despite herself, Diana had to smile back. "Right," she agreed. "And somebody record this for Eli!"

* * *

Hau had prepared himself for the second match - he'd caught a Pichu. Type advantage aside, however, Stanford easily took it out, and Popplio right after.

Then, right as Tapu Koko itself gave an approving shout, the platform caught on fire. Diana and Hau both jumped off, neither hurt, and neither showing the proper amount of panic. The rest of the crowd was with them on both counts.

"Not Frost again," a girl Diana's age groaned, as a startled-looking Eli stumbled forward, his father behind him with a Bruxish to help put it out.

Eli didn't seem to notice the others' stares at all. "Was that Tapu Koko again? That scream scared me."

"Probably." As the platform was quickly saved, and Diana heard her uncle say that it was the most solid festival platform he'd seen in five years, Hala stepped in.

"Diana," he said, "after what I've witnessed, you seem to be perfectly capable of taking the island challenge. I want you to have this back."

"Back?" Diana felt the excitement climb into her throat. She knew what he was offering. "Thank you, Hala! I wanted to have my...rock..." Her voice died. The rock wasn't a rock anymore, but a white bracelet. "What is this?"

"That's your rock," said Hala, "but better."

Diana was not impressed. "I liked my rock," she said, no emotion in her voice.

"You still have your rock," Hala reassured her. "But now it has special magic powers."

Eli's father quickly jumped into panic, shaking his head and whispering "no." He knew his wife's family well - her uncanny weather prediction, how not even a rampaging Gyarados resisted her mother, her sister's ability to heal dying plants. He'd witnessed Eli's 'quirk' firsthand on multiple occasions, and though he didn't know Diana's, he didn't doubt that she was 'odd' as well. That family had enough weirdness following them. They did not need help.

Hala pretended he didn't notice. "With this, you can use Z-crystals to bring a single attack to its peak power."

"Crystals?" Diana was excited again - crystals were sparkly, and she loved shiny things almost as much as she loved science. She even brought her small collection of shiny plastic rings with her. "Ok, I'll do it!"

"You haven't even heard the full extent of what I'm offering," Hala pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. If it's legal or I can argue for it in court, I'll do it."

"Then it's settled!" He looked back to the professor. "I'm sorry to send one of your assistants out to the other islands, but Tapu Koko itself has a mission for her."

"Field research," Kukui said, not seeming to care. "She can see what kinds of Pokémon that Alola has to offer, yeah."

"And find more Pokedex entries to pick apart," Eli added.

Diana laughed. "I already said I'd do it, there's no need to tempt me more! Come on, Eli! You're coming with me! Let's go find your mom!"

* * *

As Eli explained things to his mother, Diana pulled the camera from her bag. "Trainer's journey, Day 2. I'm now taking the island challenge because Tapu Koko - a local chicken god - decided it was going to send me on a mission. I've decided to ignore the mission and collect these things called Z-crystals. No idea what they are, but Hala said it was power and a crystal, so I'm interested." She turned the camera around so that her cousin could get in the shot. "This boy here is going to be my guide. He probably doesn't know where anything is, either. We'll have a lot of fun."

She put the camera back, and turned around only to find herself face-to-face with Lillie. Lillie did not look impressed.

"Tapu Koko," she said slowly, "is not a chicken god."

"It does look like one, though."

"Tapu Koko saved your life! And Nebby's, too!" The bag made a 'Pew!' sound, and Lillie quickly shushed it before glaring back at Diana. "Don't you have any gratitude?"

"I'm grateful enough to thank it for saving me," Diana confirmed. "But I am not grateful enough to bow down to it. If it can be captured, it's a powerful creature, not a god."

"Mom said we could go on a journey!" Eli called, diverting the conversation. "She's gonna call Aunt Luna to explain everything for us, but she suggested that you put your video updates on YouTube!"

"But then anyone can see them," Diana pointed out. "The entire world! Would they really be interested in watching us?"

"People watch other people play video games, Diana," Eli pointed out. "I watch this guy from Kalos play stuff I'm too young or poor to play myself. Well, his girlfriend's doing it for him right now, but -"

"Eli," Diana said quickly, and he stopped talking, jumping back to his original point.

"Anyway, if people can watch other people play video games or take stuff out of boxes, then two part-alien kids showing off a region could probably get Alola some more tourists." She rolled her eyes, but he ignored it and handed her a big wad of cash. "Anyway, apparently your mom sent her some money meant to be a weekly allowance for you, so she handed that over, and she gave me some money for Potions! We're going to rule Alola!"

Well, that did sound tempting. "With an iron fist?"

"I don't see why not."

Lillie took a step back. Diana wondered if Lillie had heard of Eli's real personality, or if she took his spontaneous pyrokinesis and statement of 'ruling' to imagine him as a supervillain.

"You have a very nice mother, don't you?" she said, almost more to herself than Eli. Then she pushed the thoughts aside and smiled. "Well, then? Why don't you two follow me to the professor's lab?"

"I'm not going to be working at the lab anymore," Diana reminded her.

"But we are going to be working together! Besides," she added, looking at Diana pointedly, "how can Professor Kukui give you a Pokedex for your field research if you don't go to where he keeps them?"

There was something about Lillie's face that made Diana agree.


	6. The Trio Complete

**If you recognize the Star vs. the Forces of Evil joke, I can explain. The editor and I have an inside joke about voice casting the Pokedex Adventures series. Diana's hypothetical voice was Star, and that connection was made with the exact line we used in this chapter, so we used the line in the chapter. (For the curious, Rotomdex had the same voice the anime dub used, and Eli's was Prohyas from Mighty Magiswords)**

Eli's house was closer to the Ruins of Conflict, and the entire adventure so far. Diana's new house, it turned out, was close enough to Kukui's lab that she could see explosions from the window. As the three preteens made their way down, Lillie kept talking about the Pokémon.

"I don't use Nebby for battle," she was saying. "I prefer using Repels."

"But why don't you bother to actually train your..." Diana paused, considering, and gestured at the bag. "That thing with the stupid nickname."

"Nebby is a great name!" Lillie protested. When Diana snorted and Eli made a so-so gesture, she huffed. "It's short for Nebula. As in, the space thing?"

"Nebula," Diana retaliated, "would be an_ awesome_ name. Why shorten it?"

Lillie didn't seem to want to argue, as Nebby seemed to be the only Pokémon she had and Stanford was definitely a battler. Instead, she changed the subject. "Nebby is a Cosmog. A very rare Pokémon that I want both of you to swear you will never tell anyone about."

Eli slowly lowered his phone. "Good thing I didn't post the pictures, then."

Diana had her own ideas. "But why can't you publish your discovery? I'm sure the scientists would love having this new Pokémon, or Kukui could put it in the Pokedex, or..."

"I wouldn't." Lillie opened the bag to check to make sure Cosmog was still inside. When it looked up at her and made its little 'Pew' sound, she smiled in relief. "Nebby has a strange power. It saved me once when I was in trouble."

"Did it blow up everything but you and itself?" Eli asked. "Because if so, you might want to work on behavior training, because that makes twice now."

Lillie considered how to answer before she spoke. "I suppose I should," she said after a moment. "Other people want it for themselves. And there's only one..." she paused. "I don't know if I can trust you, but I have to. You can't let anyone know Nebby exists."

"You already said that," Diana pointed out.

"I know. But you never promised." They immediately did so. But Lillie didn't look ready to trust them yet, even as she led them down the path to the lab.

"I still say she's a jewel thief," Eli muttered, proving that maybe he wasn't ready to trust Lillie, either.

* * *

After only one trainer battle, which was left to Eli and Robbie to win, the trio arrived at Kukui's lab. From the inside, they could hear him yelling at a Pokémon, trying to convince it to attack him.

"I think I'm going to like my new boss," Diana said to herself. "He gets me."

Lillie looked horrified, then turned to Eli as if he had any hope of restraining Diana. Eli shrugged, telling Lillie everything she needed to know without a word. Lillie sighed. "Well, we should probably go in before he does too much damage."

And she opened the door, where they found Kukui in almost normal condition. The only exception to the normal was the Rockruff hanging from his lab coat by the teeth. He looked up when they entered, and waved as if the Rockruff wasn't there.

"Diana!" he called, as if she couldn't see him. "Eli! Thanks for getting them for me, Lillie."

"Of course," Lillie said. "I am your assistant, remember?"

"And you're a great one! But I want to talk to my other assistant for a moment."

Diana stepped closer, and the Rockruff let go of Kukui's lab coat. The professor reached into the pocket Rockruff had almost bitten, and removed a little red device.

"This is the Alola region Pokedex. You know what a Pokedex is, yeah?"

"Yeah," Diana repeated. She'd been playing with the things since before she could read.

Then something orange shot out from a corner, startling Eli and Lillie while intriguing Diana, and it jumped into the Pokedex just as the rug started to smoke. Eli stomped out the accidental fire with little change in expression. The Pokedex flickered to life and hovered, watching Diana with adorable, intelligent blue eyes.

"It's possessed," Diana stated, entirely unnecessarily. After all, they'd all seen it happen. "I'm gonna touch it."

"Don't touch it!" Eli complained. "You get upset when people touch you, right? Why would that thing be any different?"

Diana took the Pokedex in her hands.

"And she touched it," Eli groaned, facepalming. "Great. Now SHE'LL be possessed."

"I'm not going to possess her," the Pokedex objected, and the entire room went silent - except the professor, who was attempting to muffle his laughter. "I'm a Rotom - we only possess technology! I'm here to help Diana work when the professor and Lillie are busy with Nebby!"

"A Rotom in a Pokedex?" Diana asked, watching her new ally as he zipped around the room. "Is this a new form, like the refrigerator or lawnmower? Is talking human your new form's Ability?"

"It's actually a Pokedex built specifically to hold a Rotom," Kukui explained. "A Rotom possessing a normal Pokedex would only be able to turn it off and on at will. A Rotomdex has a built in map and can speak the user's language thanks to special software. It can even translate your Pokémon's speech for you!"

Stanford and Robbie both jumped from their balls and started shouting at Rotom. Rotom backed away in mild horror. "Hey, one at a time!"

The door opened. Hau stepped in, cheerful as always.

"Hi, everybody! Gramps said that you were going to give me some tips on the island challenge?"

"I did tell him that," Kukui agreed. "So, Lillie, why don't you start us off?"

Diana immediately tuned them out. She wouldn't tell them. At least she paid enough attention to know that the amulet Kukui handed her was important to the island challenge.

That would have to be enough information for now.

* * *

Diana's house was right at the edge of the city, and walking to it led the cousins to Lillie's line of sight. She showed them the Pokémon Center, despite both of them knowing how to buy supplies and how to ask for their Pokémon to be healed.

However, something entirely new to Diana was the café area. A single corner in the Pokémon Center, where each of the kids could have a glass of Moomoo Milk while Stanford and Robbie munched on some brightly colored beans. Lillie even dropped a few into her bag so Cosmog could join the fun without revealing itself.

When they finished their drinks, they walked down the road to the Trainer's School, and found themselves distracted by a Tauros.

"Well, THAT'S a roadblock," Eli said, more to himself than the others.

"We were only going as far as the Trainer's School, anyway," Lillie said, but her voice was small. "Someone else can deal with that, right?"

"Unless we have to come back and deal with it later." Diana had no faith in other people clearing up roadblocks when Cosmog's own trainer had refused to go after it when the branch had been _right there,_ and she made that lack of faith obvious.

Rotom, being new to the adventuring party, made an irritated sound. "What do you think we are, video game protagonists?"

Eli froze in horror. "ARE we?" he asked, but the girls didn't answer, having instead decided to investigate the Trainer's School and not bother with his crazy conspiracies.

Rotom patted his shoulder. "Relax. What do you think the Kahuna is for?"

Eli allowed himself a bit of relief, but he knew he'd be thinking about the possibility for a long time.


	7. Crushed

**Growing up is not going to be easy for our heroine. Also, there's another Star reference.**

Professor Kukui had passed them when they were at the Pokémon Center café, and when they got to the Trainer's School, they found him talking to a teacher. They were laughing about some grown-up thing, and stopped when the kids arrived.

"Are these the ones you were telling me about?" the teacher asked, looking them all over. Lillie took a step back and pointed at the other two, making it clear she was not involved.

"Those two are," Kukui replied. He looked down at the cousins. "What do you say, kids? Think you can take on four trainers?"

"With only one Pokémon each?" Diana asked, and Kukui shrugged.

"You can do it. But try to catch some more Pokémon sometime, yeah?"

"Yeah, yeah," Diana muttered to herself as she led her cousin into the building.

Lillie watched her leave, then turned to the professor. "Do you think they can even defeat the other trainers like that?"

"It's possible."

"But how _likely_ is it?"

Kukui put his hands in his pockets. "No matter what happens," he told her, "it will be a learning experience for both of them."

* * *

The first two battles, one on the far end of the school grounds and another inside the building, were easy enough, but they decided to wander the school, too. Diana knew how to battle, and what moves were, and how status conditions worked, but she wanted to learn all she could about all of the new Pokémon that didn't show up in Kanto, and she wanted facts first, not Pokedex entries. And the fact that there were several strong trainers from this school was another interest factor.

Eli, meanwhile, was dumping his unnecessary backstory on her as they wandered through the hallways and into classrooms, oblivious to how she was much more focused on checking out all of the books and battle trophies, and the photos of those who had earned said trophies.

"I went to school for a while," Eli was saying, "but then my power kicked in and I had to be homeschooled. Mom says society's not prepared enough to handle me."

"Uh-huh. That's great."

She sounded distracted, but Eli didn't notice. "I have to agree with her, though. I don't do well in crowds. Or buildings."

"Hey, Eli, shut it, ok?"

This time, he did notice. "Diana, in Alola, it's rude to tell people to shut it."

"Yeah, yeah, that's rude in Kanto, too." Diana pointed to a picture of a first-place trophy winner. Pink hair and a cute smile, dressed completely in brown and white. "Look," she said, her eyes full of stars.

Eli looked, but found what she was pointing at had no answers. "A trophy?"

"No." She moved her finger slightly so that even he could follow it to the photo accompanying the trophy. "THAT."

"What?"

"I'm in love, Eli," she said, despite the fact that she had never met this person. "I have seen my future husband!" The phrase _trophy husband_ crossed her mind, and she suddenly had to stop herself from laughing out loud.

Eli had his own line of thoughts, and his were actually voiced. "Are you even sure that's a dude?"

Diana stopped laughing, and gave the picture another look before nodding. "Like, 98% sure."

"What if you're wrong?" Eli asked, and Diana paused for a moment, before looking back at the student's picture once more.

"That's never happened."

"But what if there really is a first time for everything?"

"If I'm wrong," she said, lacking confidence for the first time Eli could remember, "that would mean that I'll have to ask myself a lot of awkward, personal questions, and I don't think I'm ready for that."

There was a very awkward silence.

"Well," Diana said, straightening up as she returned to her normal, confident self, "we have a Pokémon school to conquer, right? Let's get this done!"

* * *

When Diana finished the battle with the self-proclaimed "strongest trainer in the school," the reward for that was an announcement from the speakers. "Eli Frost and Diana Freeman! Please report to the second floor!"

Lillie glared at both cousins at once, but was not surprised when neither looked ashamed of themselves. "You've been here for 40 minutes!" she complained. "What could you have done in 40 minutes that got you both sent to the principal?"

"He's Eli," Diana shrugged. "What do you THINK he did?"

"She's Diana," Eli said at the same time. "The list is already endless."

"I'm starting to worry about my safety on this journey," Rotom said, emerging from Diana's bag to make sure the building was still standing.

"I don't think you have to worry, Rotom," Kukui said. "You kids might want to prepare yourselves, though. Lillie?"

"On it," said Lillie, and got down to heal both Stanford and Robbie once more.

Diana understood what was going on. "Double battle with the principal?"

"You do catch on quick," Kukui laughed. "Go on, it's not going to kill you!"

"And you're sure the teachers won't try to eat our brains?" Eli asked.

"If it's brains they're after, you're safe." Diana laughed when he looked offended. "Well, we're not doing anything with our time. And maybe we can get some information on that...um,_ interesting person_ I saw in that picture!"

"Diana has a crush," Rotom explained, noticing Lillie's confusion.

Diana snatched Rotom from the air and stuffed him back in her bag. She was completely red in the face through the whole thing. "It's not a crush," she denied. "I just...it's a pretty person and I have a very strong...um...sense of aesthetics."

"You said that the person in the picture was your future husband," Eli pointed out.

Diana blushed even harder, wishing she did have some kind of useful superpower. If she could just freeze him in place or fly out of here...

"I say a lot of things I don't mean," she said, before spinning on her heel and walking back into the school, not bothering to look back.

* * *

Eli caught up with her at the bottom of the stairs leading to the third floor, where she was talking to one of the teachers about having a battle. The teacher looked surprised that she'd managed to get this far with just a Rowlet, but was still insisting on a double battle.

"Sorry I took so long!"

Diana didn't even flinch at his sudden speech, even though he did not announce his presence with spontaneous combustion this time. "Good. Eli's here. Now we can have that double battle you wanted."

The teacher looked annoyed, but must have decided it was best if the two of them left the building as soon as possible, because she sent out her Magnemite and Meowth.

This must have been what an Alolan Meowth looked like. Diana pulled Rotom from her bag to get a better idea of what she was going up against.

"Alolan Meowth is a Dark-type Pokémon," Rotom read out. "It says that if its pride is wounded, or if the coin on its head gets dirty, it flies into a rage."

Diana frowned. "That's not interesting enough to test," she decided. But then she reconsidered. "Though I guess it could be an easy way to start my career!" She tossed out her Rowlet's ball. "Stanford, let's go! Aim for the coin!"

"Robbie, let it burn!" Eli called from behind her, and his Litten appeared on the field immediately after.

The battle was quick. Magnemite was at a type disadvantage to Robbie's Ember attack, and Meowth couldn't stand up to Stanford. It was over almost immediately, and the teacher handed each of them 5 Great Balls as a reward.

"You're doing really well, kids!"

They turned together, neither surprised to see Professor Kukui standing there. Diana tried very hard to focus on the professor's face, but her eyes kept drifting to the person behind him.

The person was a little older than she was, probably early teens. Pink hair, cute smile...and, up close, recognizably male. Diana could feel her face heat up all over again, the relief at being right about that overwritten by the embarrassment of the realization that it was a crush after all.

_How do crush?_ was the only thought her glitched brain could think.

"Greetings!" The boy seemed oblivious to her pathetic, unscientific thoughts, and Diana had enough of her true self remaining to be grateful. "Captain Ilima here."

"Hi," Diana squeaked out. Eli smirked but said nothing. Wise of him.

"I saw you two battling outside," Ilima continued. "I hope you don't mind, but I just had to meet you."

Kukui noticed Diana's unfortunate reaction to Ilima's words, and his expression matched Eli's. "This is Diana," he said, diverting Ilima's attention for just a moment. "She moved here from the Kanto region to be my research assistant. She's already shown a real knack for knowing which moves to use."

"I know a lot of stuff." Well, her mouth was still fully functional, even if her brain wasn't.

"And with her is Eli, her cousin."

Ilima looked over at Eli, and immediately stepped back, horrified. He clearly knew what Eli was capable of. "There's TWO now?"

"I'm not like him!" Diana interrupted immediately. "I-I just have a higher resistance to temperature change! My power is only an inconvenience to ME!"

Ilima didn't seem entirely convinced, but he did seem less afraid. "Then I welcome you, newcomer, and hope to see you at my trial. You do have your amulet, after all."

"I'm on it!" Diana squealed, and jumped forward, Stanford already out of his ball. "We'll take your trial right now, right, Stanford?"

Stanford was clearly much less impressed with this guy than his trainer was, but he was willing to help her impress the boy if necessary.

Ilima, for the moment at least, just looked surprised. "With only a Rowlet?"

"If you want me to."

The teacher seemed to notice something in the boy that the cousins did not, and she laughed softly. "You'll get your battle soon, Ilima. Let the girl heal her Rowlet first."

Ilima was disappointed, but looked down at Stanford briefly before returning his attention to Diana. "I'll see you later, then," he promised. "In the meantime, I was told to tell you that the Tauros has been taken care of."

And he was gone. Diana did not waste her time.

"Well, Tauros is gone! Let's get out of here, before I meet another cute student. My brain can only handle so much mushification."

"That's not a word," Rotom interrupted, "but you're suffering right now, so I'll allow it."

Diana shoved him into her bag again, not feeling sorry at all.


	8. Backyard Bribery

**EDITOR'S NOTE: "When planning the end teams, I got confused on Pokémon locations between Moon and Ultra Moon. We talked it over, and agreed that this Pokémon is better for Diana than a Meowth or Rattata."**

By the time Diana and Eli left the school, they found Hau and Hala standing next to the same Tauros that had forced them into the school in the first place. Hau was petting it, and the Pokémon seemed to enjoy it.

"Did you catch it?" Eli asked, taking a few steps closer.

"I was already his trainer," Hala corrected. "But why don't you pet him? He seems to like it."

All four kids wasted no time in doing so. As Tauros calmed down, Hala laughed. "See? He loves you already! There's no doubt in my mind that you'll go far."

As he led Tauros away, Hau waved goodbye, and then turned to the others. "What are you guys planning to do? I'm going to the malasada shop myself."

"Malasada?" Diana said, but Lillie talked over her.

"I was going to show Diana around Hau'oli City," she said, "because her cousin...well..."

"I have a reputation," Eli agreed. "But the city is where our grandparents live, so I think I can come along."

"Then we'll go together," Hau decided, "and we'll ALL get malasadas!"

"What's a malasada?" Diana asked, and Hau threw an arm around her shoulders.

"Only the greatest food to ever exist," he told her, so solemnly one could be mistaken for thinking he worshiped this food as his god.

"Not quite," Eli cut in.

"Don't mind him, Diana, he's a liar."

"I caught him making out with one once," Eli said, surprisingly serious.

"I was slow eating!" Hau protested.

"Whatever you say, dude. I know better."

Diana turned to Lillie, as if she would give her a better understanding of what was going on. The other lab assistant looked just as lost and concerned as Diana felt.

"I think she'd understand better from tasting it than she will by hearing about it," Lillie said after a moment.

Silently agreeing, Eli took the lead position in the group. "Well, we're not getting anything done here. Let's go get some malasadas!"

* * *

Hau'oli City was big. Diana had heard about that from her mother, but actually seeing the city for herself was something else. Hau ran ahead to the beach, but she stayed behind, sticking close to Eli in an attempt to not get lost. They lost Lillie, too, but they found their grandparents' house.

It wasn't really difficult. Even in a city as big as this one, people put a lot of faith in local superstitions and rumors, and the woman who had calmed a wild Gyarados was rumored to be a witch. Of course, the fact that her partner Pokémon was a Mismagius did nothing to help with those rumors, but the fact that she fed wild Pokémon reassured most people that she _probably _wasn't going to curse them.

Mismagius was inside when the kids arrived on the street, but like any Ghost-type, she jumped out through the wall of the house, screaming in delight as she recognized Eli...and he was just as unaffected by this as Diana was.

"I'm used to this," he said, after confirming the identity of the Pokémon, "but why didn't you flinch?"

"Please. I've been playing in graveyards since I was five. You think this is the first time something jumped at me?" Diana held out her hand as if expecting Mismagius to shake it. "I'm Diana. Luna's daughter."

As if she'd heard, the old woman herself opened the door. Seeing both of her grandkids in one place, she froze, and then...

"Don't just sit there, Mismagius! Let them inside!"

Twenty minutes later, she was nodding along as Eli filled her in about everything, starting with Diana arriving in Alola - Diana was pleased that her grandmother agreed that Kukui should have at least warned her before hiring Lillie, though she could have done without her cousin mentioning how Ilima shut down the logic center of her brain.

But at least she had something on him, too.

"Eli set Tapu Koko's ruins on fire."

"Only the bridge!" Eli whined. "And Tapu Koko saved you, remember?"

Their grandmother didn't get angry at the two, but spoke in a quiet voice that got both of them to shut up. "Eli, am I wrong in assuming this happened when you saw Diana and the Pokémon she recued fall through the bridge?"

"Yeah." He wasn't sure where this was coming from.

"Then I'm sure Tapu Koko forgives you for your accidental demolition. But, if you want to be sure, the two of you can go and set out the food."

"And get in some extra entries for the Pokedex!" Rotom added.

"And start my career early," Diana agreed. "Ok! Where do you keep the Pokémon food, and can Stanford and Robbie and Rotom have some?"

* * *

An hour later, Rotom and the kids were watching Robbie and Stanford play with the wild Pokémon in the backyard. The sun was starting to set, their grandfather and his Tauros came home from the grocery store, and they were debating if they should ask to sleep on the couch for the night or go somewhere else.

**"I just heard Diana ask if their grandparents had fireproof underwear,"** Stanford announced, looking slightly disturbed by the thought.

**"That's nothing,"** said Robbie, who looked much less disturbed.** "I just heard the man confirm it."**

A wild Murkrow looked up from its meal to stare.** "I knew stopping at this house was a bad idea,"** it said to itself.** "That's the last time I take directions from a Rattata."**

And then it went right back to eating. Rotom, who had only heard the end of this conversation, immediately buzzed in excitement and jumped into the kids' view.

"Hey! Diana! Eli!" It waved its arms around, making sure that they were both looking at it. "It's a Murkrow!"

"I can see that," Diana replied, not sure what Rotom wanted her to do about it. "I've seen a few before. They do have some colonies in Kanto."

"But they don't have colonies here on Melemele Island!" Rotom waved an arm at the Pokémon, who was still calmly eating. "One of you should catch it!"

"I don't know." Diana looked at the door to the house, then at Mismagius. "Do you think Murkrow would be happiest with me, or Grandma, or in the wild?" she asked.

**"I don't know,"** Mismagius told her, something Rotom quickly translated.** "I can't read minds."**

Diana listened to the translation, and spent a moment in thought. "What does the Murkrow Pokedex entry say?"

Rotom searched his database. "It says that it's generally thought to bring bad luck, but that it brings shiny things to its trainer."

"Shiny things, huh?" Could she train it to find Z-Crystals for her? Or could she use it as a guard Pokémon for her jewelry box? Either way, she was convinced. Diana plucked a Pokeball from her bag. "Then I'll make it mine!"

Rotom jumped in front of her, keeping her from throwing the ball. "But don't you remember? You're supposed to battle a wild Pokémon before you start throwing the balls at it!"

Diana didn't respond to that. Instead, she reached into her bag with her free hand, this time removing a cheap adjustable ring she got in a dress-up kit when she was little. "Hey, Murkrow!"

Murkrow turned its head, not expecting to see much from the small humans. It first noticed Diana, who looked way too serious. Then it noticed Eli, facepalming in the background. Then it noticed the angry Rotomdex and laughing Mismagius.

Finally, Diana's ring caught the light, and the girl saw the bird's eyes lock onto the shiny.

"This ring is mine," she told it. "And I have more like it. According to the Pokedex, you like shiny things, too. If you come with me, we can collect shiny things together. Does that sound good to you?" Murkrow's eyes did not leave the ring, but it seemed to have heard her, because it nodded weakly. Diana smiled. "Good. Now, if you'll just get in this ball..."

But that's when Murkrow flew away. Diana lowered the ring in disappointment.

Eli put a hand on her shoulder. "I guess we should have paid attention to Kukui after all."

"You're right," Diana sighed. "I just thought that I'd get my first capture -"

And Murkrow returned, holding a shiny object much larger than the ring in its beak. It flew down to Diana and plopped the item at her feet.

Rotom understood. "He's offering a trade!"

"He?" So Murkrow was a boy, huh? Diana looked down at his hopeful eyes, then got down to pick up the item. It was an earring, large and diamond-shaped. "You're giving me this...for my ring?"

**"Only temporary,"** Murkrow promised.** "I want to hold one of your shiny things hostage, and you can keep my biggest treasure safe. Then when we trust each other, we can share."**

Rotom translated this, too. Diana laughed.

"Yeah, I can do that." She handed Murkrow the ring, and put the earring in her bag. Then she held out the ball. "Well? I did my part of the bargain, and I'm holding your object hostage. I suggest you don't struggle."

She gently rolled the ball toward Murkrow. Murkrow immediately captured himself in it.

Diana picked up the ball, turning to her Rotomdex with a proud smile. "I guess we didn't need to listen to Kukui, after all."


	9. Meet Team Numskull

**With foreshadowing, villains, and cute boys, Diana isn't anywhere near as prepared for this journey as she thought.**

They decided not to force their grandparents to keep them in a spontaneous sleepover, so after an hour longer, they promised that they would return and started back out. They left the house, and were immediately found by Hau.

"I thought I recognized the sound of those feet!" He seemed more interested in Diana than in Eli. "I was looking for you. I know something fun you can do!"

Diana jumped up in excitement. "Stalk some Magnemite to see if Magneton is really three of them together?"

"Nope!" Hau started walking down the street, his ever-present smile never faltering. "I heard something from my gramps! I figured it would be a lot more useful for you guys than it would to me."

He led the confused cousins into a building, where he approached the woman behind the counter. "I hear you have something for people with a Rotom Dex!"

Free things? That was always fun. "Is it glitter stickers?" Diana asked hopefully, getting an annoyed sound from her bag instead.

"If you put stickers on me," Rotom threatened, "you will have no help from technology for the rest of your life."

"It's not stickers," the woman told her. Diana pouted and Rotom cheered. "It's a Poké Finder!"

"A what?" all three kids said together.

"A camera upgrade," the woman corrected. "It's supposed to be used for taking pictures of Pokémon, but it can be used for just regular photos. There's even a video camera option!"

"So I can use Rotom as my perfect science device and my journey recording device?" Eli could almost taste Diana's enthusiasm. "That's great! Here!" She shoved Rotom at the woman, not noticing its protest.

"I'm all for this idea," Rotom whined, "but you don't need to scratch me!"

Hau laughed. "Well, that's what I wanted to show you! Meet you outside, Diana!"

Diana didn't notice Eli follow him out. But she did notice when she left that the boys (and Lillie) were all waiting for her, and then...

Rotom let out a single warning cry and took a surprise picture of all of them.

* * *

The group separated again, but Eli and Diana found Lillie in front of the apparel shop, staring into a window. When she heard them approach, she turned around.

"Do you pick out your own clothes?"

That was a question that came out of nowhere. "My mom does," Diana told her.

"Then your mom must have a good sense of style. I love your outfit."

Diana blinked, then pointed to her head. "My hat looks like a red rubber glove. I want YOUR outfit."

"My mom had everything here specially made by a Gym Leader in Kalos. She picks all my clothes, too."

Oh. Lillie was rich. That's why her hair and clothes were perfect. Diana's mom just picked out whatever she thought her daughter would look cute in. And then she made her wear it, whether Diana liked it or not.

"Maybe we should start picking out our own stuff," Diana suggested. "We're on a journey, right? And we're almost teenagers, so it's about time for us to start finding our own styles. Your mom can't stop you, and my mom isn't even in the country!"

Lillie smiled a little. "That does sound fun." But she didn't go into the building. "Unfortunately, my mother will be upset if I change. If you'd seen her when my brother tried to go punk..." She paused, then handed Diana a small bag and changed the subject. "I got costume contact lenses for being a milestone customer. I want you to have them."

"Why?"

"Consider it a sign of our friendship."

Lillie left, looking thoughtful. Eli turned to follow, but Diana stepped inside. He looked back, surprised. "I thought we were going!"

"Not yet! I want to give myself green eyes!"

"Why?"

"Because green eyes are the prettiest."

"I thought you thought Ilima's eyes were pretty," Eli taunted.

Diana stuck out her tongue and closed the door behind her.

* * *

When she emerged, her eyes were still their natural color. Eli didn't ask, but Rotom explained it with "She dropped one and couldn't find it." So they continued exploring the city, until they got past the Pokémon Center and overheard a conversation.

"I saw those Team Skull people around the Marina," the man was saying. "I reported it to the captain."

"Was he concerned?" the woman asked.

"No. All Team Skull does is drag trainers into unwanted battles and try to steal Pokémon - and they fail every time they try."

"I hear they keep trying to sneak into the trial site."

Diana shook her head and pushed her cousin forward. Rotom jumped out of her bag. "Diana! This could be important to the plot!"

"Don't care." She gave Eli another shove. "I'm already taking trials _and_ being a scientist. I don't have time to save the region. Make Hau do it."

"But do you have any idea where you're going?"

"Do you have a map?"

"I do, actually!" Rotom flew in front of the cousins. "I know exactly where you need to go next! I was programmed with all the features!"

"So where's the malasadas that Hau kept talking about?"

Rotom's black screen turned on, revealing a map of Hau'oli City. A red flag popped up, and then a big yellow smiley face. "We're on the smiley," it told her, "and the malasada shop is the flag!"

"That is convenient," Diana muttered, and Eli moved to the side before she could push him again.

"So let's go then! It's been forever since I had a malasada from the shop!" He released Robbie from the Pokeball. "And you get a discount if you share it with a Pokémon! Let's go, and hope they forgot my banning!"

"Banning?"

"You know, accidental arson, destruction of property, going back in three different bad disguises, bad lying, and unintended vandalism. Only one of those things involving my pyrokinesis."

_"One?"_

But Eli was already running down the street. Diana shrugged, and let out her Murkrow. "Well, you're new to the team, so you get the first malasada! I'll get one for Stanford next time."

**"But I just ate at your grandma's house,"** Murkrow pointed out, but Diana was following Eli and Rotom was behind her. Murkrow gave up trying to object.

Besides, flying did work up an appetite.

* * *

They got their malasadas, and left with their Pokémon still out of the balls. They figured that no one would mess with them if they stayed together, and for the most part, they were right.

But then they arrived at the Marina.

"Ilima," Diana whispered, recognizing the back of the boy's head. She looked at Rotom hopelessly. "How's my hair?"

"It looks like you've been wearing a stupid hat all day," Rotom reminded her. "And you were wearing the same hat when you first met. You're going to have to win him over with your personality now."

Eli snorted. "Good luck with that."

Diana's shoulders drooped. "Maybe it's better this way," she decided. "I don't think I want him to know."

"Scared of rejection?" Eli grinned and looked around. "Did you learn fear after all?"

"I'm not afraid," Diana snapped back. "It's the fact that I barely know him! I don't even know his last name, or his age! My mom said to know someone first."

"Good advice," Rotom agreed, but Diana was already on her way, attempting casual.

Ilima recognized her, or at least her hat. "Oh! You're...Diana, was it?" She nodded. "I see you have a Murkrow to help you now. Have you changed your mind about using only your Rowlet?"

"Not at all." She looked down at Murkrow. "He's just going to help me with other trials."

"I'll admit, using only a Rowlet sounds interesting. Would you mind...?"

But he didn't get to finish. There was another voice, one that no one recognized. "Yo, yo, yo!"

Rotom jumped into Eli's bag this time.

"Why does it smell like ashes and dirty socks in here?" Rotom complained. "What's IN here?"

"My charred socks," Eli answered immediately. "I found a Yungoos going through my stuff once, so I started that to keep them out."

"It works."

"Thanks. Hey, how do you even have a sense of smell?"

Rotom took his turn at silence. Two young men wearing no sleeves and very baggy pants approached. Murkrow looked up at the sight of the sunset glinting off the oddly-shaped medallions they were wearing, and Diana tore her eyes away from Ilima at the same time, to focus on the same things.

"So shiny," she whispered.

Ilima smiled, a perfectly innocent expression. "Would you mind recording your trial?" he asked, getting Diana's attention back. "I'm not allowed to assist, but if you teach your Murkrow to operate a camera -"

"What gives, Captain?" one of the men complained. "Don't ignore us!"

Ilima continued to smile, waiting for Diana to find her words and continuing to ignore the men. Diana looked at the ground.

"I can do that," she agreed, deciding that if Ilima could ignore these guys, she could, too. "I mean, I have...I have my mom's camera on me, to give her and Dad updates on my life in Alola until they get here."

"Just give us your Pokémon!" the other strange man yelled, and he and his companion started to...

...aggressively dance at the captain and his friend.

Ilima finally looked away from Diana, the smile slipping from his face. "You're absolutely terrifying." Diana bit her hand to muffle the squeak - good looking, nice, _and_ capable of sarcasm? Ilima turned back to her. "This is Team Skull," he announced. "They try to be tough, but they never seem to be good at it."

"So I've heard."

"Then why don't we take care of them? Together."

"Together?" She could hear snickering at the awkward squeak in her voice, but ignored it for the moment.

Ilima didn't even blink. "Why not? I'm going to see your Rowlet battle. I might as well see your Murkrow in action, as well."

Diana looked down at Murkrow. He tilted his head in what seemed to be a shrug.** "Better than sitting around waiting for you to begin the human courtship ritual."**

Eli heard muffled laughter from his bag. "Even Murkrow noticed," Rotom snickered. "There's no way Ilima doesn't know."

If Ilima did know, he was pretending he didn't. "Do you accept the double battle conditions?"

"If we can get that sweet Murkrow out of it?" The Team Skull grunts laughed. "Let's do it!"

Murkrow hopped in front of Diana and assumed a battle stance as the grunt sent out a Zubat. Diana grinned. "Let's start easy! Pursuit!"


	10. Shipping Battle

**Rotom ships Ilima/Diana. Eli, not so much.**

It didn't take long at all for Diana and Ilima to win. Just as Ilima predicted, the Skull grunts ran away immediately after their defeat, shouting threats behind them.

"Terrifying, aren't they?" Ilima asked sarcastically, and Diana smiled right back at him.

"I don't feel fear," she told him bluntly.

"Everyone feels fear," Ilima disagreed. "It's a rational emotion. It's what helps us survive."

"Not Diana," Eli said bluntly, as Rotom jumped out of his bag, gasping for air he didn't need. "She hit a Spearow with a stick."

"Got a home run, too," Diana added.

"As in, we had to run home."

Ilima wasn't sure what to make of this. On the one hand, it made sense - she was willingly taking Eli Frost on an adventure, after all. On the other hand, fear was a basic reaction, and someone claiming she didn't feel it was almost scary in its own way. "Why did you hit a Spearow with a stick?" he finally asked.

"It went for my face. I do feel anger."

"But why did you swing a stick at it?"

"I was defending a friend's..." she cringed as the next word came out of her mouth. "Nebby."

Putting aside his lack of knowledge of what a Nebby was, he continued to ask questions. "And to defend yourself and this creature..."

"Actually, then Tapu Koko got involved, and Eli lit the bridge on fire, so -"

Something clicked in Ilima's brain. "You're the ones who Eli'd the bridge at the ruins!"

"We do have _the _Eli," Rotom pointed out.

"I see it's picked up at the Trainer's School, too," Eli said, half-disappointed, half-proud.

"Well," Ilima said after a moment of uncomfortable silence, "I suggest we all try to forget Team Skull even exists, as well as this conversation."

"Way ahead of you," Diana, Eli, and Rotom all said together.

"Good. Now, Diana?"

"Um...yeah?"

"Do you want to battle me tomorrow?"

Diana looked at Rotom for answers, but Rotom laughed. "I can't answer this for you," he told her.

"Please?"

Rotom shook his entire body to make up for lack of a head, and looked back at Ilima. "It's a date," he announced, to Diana's humiliation.

"Not a date!" she protested weakly. Then she looked back at Ilima. _"_Not unless he wants it to be..." she whispered under her breath.

Ilima's smile made Diana squeak again. "Then I'll meet you here tomorrow morning. After the battle, we can prepare for the trial."

* * *

The cousins had stayed at a Pokémon Center overnight, deciding it would be too much to force their grandparents to take them back and that it was too late to go back to Eli's house. Diana woke up early, but Ilima was still at the Marina before she was.

"Were you waiting since sunrise?" Eli asked.

"Perhaps. I was too excited for battle to sit still." The first Pokeball was already in his hand, proving his statement. "Have you prepared, Diana?"

"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't." Diana took her position across from Ilima, trying very hard not to get distracted. "Ready?"

Ilima didn't respond to her words, but sent out a Yungoos. Diana glanced at Rotom for answers.

"Normal-type," he reminded her.

"Right." She picked her own Pokémon. "Stanford, let's go!"

When Stanford jumped from the ball, Ilima wasted no time in ordering Yungoos to use Tackle. Stanford jumped up into the air, avoiding the attack.

"Off to a good start," Ilima commented, and Diana was very glad she didn't have the spontaneous combustion powers - she was sure the nearby buildings would be on fire just from the heat in her face alone.

"Thanks," she squeaked out. She hadn't lost a battle yet, she could do this. It would be easy. All she had to do was not look at the opposing trainer, and if she could focus on his team, it should all be fine. "Um...ok! Stanford, use Leafage!"

Eli and Rotom watched the battle together in silence. For about a minute. Then Rotom spoke again.

"Is she not capable of admitting her crush?"

"Probably not," Eli answered immediately.

"Should we tell him for her?"

"Why?"

"Don't you want your cousin to be with a boy who makes her happy?"

"I don't think Ilima would be able to handle dating Diana," Eli pointed out. "She already does stupid things for science. Do you really want to see the lengths she'll go to for a potential boyfriend? It'll take all he's got just to keep her alive."

"You're probably right," Rotom admitted, and turned on the camera function of his new app just so Diana's parents could watch this battle.

Yungoos let out a cry as it fell to the ground, the Rowlet victorious. Diana was looking at a Pikipek perched on the roof of a building instead of the other humans, or even the Pokémon. Stanford didn't seem to notice her lack of attention, but he looked proud of himself.

Of course, the victory was short-lived when Ilima's Smeargle burned Stanford with Ember, taking him down.

* * *

Murkrow was called in to avenge his teammate, and through constant use of Pursuit, gave Diana another victory to add to her winning streak. While Ilima congratulated her, Rotom made fun little shipping sounds.

"It's a schoolgirl crush on an older guy," Eli pointed out. "It's kind of weird when you think about it."

"He's fourteen. It's a three-year age gap. It's normal."

"It's a kid in love with a teacher."

"It's a horse-watching-a-dog situation."

Fortunately, they were far enough away from the battle that both conversations went entirely unnoticed by both the girl they were following and the object of her affection. They were discussing the upcoming trial, completely ignorant of the ship war that had just started.

"I suppose I should warn the Pokémon in Verdant Cavern about you and your friends," Ilima was saying, getting the Pokedex to shut up and try to listen. "Of course, you know that Eli isn't allowed in the actual trial area, right?"

"I figured he wouldn't be."

"I just wanted to be clear." He looked over at Eli, and cringed at a memory he didn't elaborate on. "Well, Diana...I bid you Alola."

He left without another word. Diana did not look away from him until he was out of earshot.

"Wow, he's pretty," she mumbled, before clearing her throat and looking at the others. "What are you waiting for? I need to get to Verdant Cavern, and I have no idea where I'm going! Rotom, show the map!"


	11. Delicious Distractions

**In which Diana wastes five minutes, and Eli makes a friend.**

They met up with Lillie not long after they left the Pokémon Center, and she was clearly relieved to see familiar faces. They had a brief moment of catching up - Lillie got lost, apparently, and Diana told her about the trial - and then things got serious.

"I read in an old book that the island challenges were once a journey made to prove yourself and get to battle against the guardian deities of Alola." Lillie looked Diana over. "And you're doing it for a_ boy?_"

"And the crystal things, yes."

Eli shoved his hands in his pockets. "If that's what you're focused on, maybe you're not a scientist. Maybe you're a lab rat, forever running in a maze in an eternal search for cheese."

"I disagree," Lillie said over Diana's vocal protest. "A lab rat would know better than to attack a Spearow."

Diana stuck her nose in the air. "I guess next time I'll leave Cosmog to die, then."

"Anyway," Lillie said quickly. dropping the subject. "those 'crystal things,' as you called them, are Z-Crystals. They're a part of Alola's history, not just something to collect for the sake of collecting."

"Gym badges are a part of my home region's history," Diana pointed out. "Z-crystals are pretty much the same, right? Fight a Captain in a certain location -"

"No," Lillie interrupted. "You don't fight the Captain. You fight what's called a Totem Pokémon."

Oh. "It's still one of his Pokémon, though, right?"

"Sort of. He trains it, but it was marked as a Totem before he got involved. A Captain has nothing to do with which Pokémon gets the Totem Aura."

"What's a Totem Aura?"

Lillie shook her head. "I don't know, really. Only that it marks a Totem Pokémon."

"You'll find out soon, though," Rotom announced, before flying up and showing Diana his map. "See there? That's Kahuna Hala! Once he's out of your way, you can go to Verdant Cavern!"

Eli and Diana took Rotom at his word, and saw that Hala was dealing with the Tauros again. Seeing the kids seemed to give Tauros a second burst of strength, and he spun around and took off, Hala immediately giving chase.

"Well," Diana said after a moment. "That happened."

"They're gone, at least," said Rotom, and he led the others down the path.

* * *

Almost as soon as she started walking, Diana was roped into a battle with a woman and her Gastly. While she was distracted by that, Eli and Robbie had their own distraction.

A big, fluffy distraction.

"Another Fire-type?" Diana asked, as Eli fluffed up the fur of his new Growlithe.

"Hey, _he_ came to _me_." Growlithe licked Eli's face. "Aww! Your breath smells terrible!"

Rotom searched its database. "Growlithe. It looks cute, but if you approach another trainer's Growlithe, it will bark at you and bite."

Diana, always taking Pokedex entries as personal challenges, immediately reached to pet Growlithe. She pulled her hand away almost immediately, wiping dog slobber on her shirt. "Not this one," she announced. "I'm going to need a bigger study group, but this Growlithe is not the biting type. He licks."

**"I can bite,"** Growlithe protested.** "I've got teeth! I know the move!"**

"She's a scientist," Rotom explained. "If you're going to be a part of our traveling group, you're going to have to accept that she wants to experiment."

Growlithe sniffed Diana, then looked back at Rotom.** "Isn't she a little young to be a scientist?"**

"Yes," Rotom answered immediately. "Yes, she is."

Diana had no idea what Growlithe was saying, but she wasn't about to ask. "Well, this clearly isn't Verdant Cavern. We have a Trial to do."

"And a male human for her to impress," Rotom whispered to Growlithe, who needed no further explanation.

**"Humans do like to use their Pokémon-commanding skills to attract mates,"** he said, everything clicking in his brain.** "I like the boy more, but I'll help her whenever she needs me."**

"That's the way it usually works," Rotom told him, and the group continued on their way.

* * *

For several steps after Eli caught his Growlithe, the team was enjoying the peace.

Then Diana's amulet was snatched right off of her bag by a Delibird, which led to her chasing it into a berry field and the others chasing her to keep her from doing something stupid.

Then Diana stopped in her tracks, the others stopping right behind her. "Seriously?" her cousin heard her ask under her breath.

Team Skull was in the berry field. Rotom promptly dropped himself into Diana's bag.

"You got a lame bunch of berries," one grunt was saying as he aggressively danced at the man who appeared to run the place. "Now Team Skull's your adversaries!"

The cousins facepalmed simultaneously. The man seemed to agree. "I'll share my berries for free with the Pokémon, but not with you."

"So what, I'm lower than a Pokémon? I've already got self-esteem issues, man!"

Diana couldn't help but admit that that was a little funny. The grunts scooped berries from a pile and turned to leave, but promptly dropped them all when they saw her.

"Yo!" said the grunt who had spoken earlier. He turned to his accomplice. "Isn't she the one...?"

"She's the one," the accomplice confirmed.

"That's what I thought." He turned back to the trio. "What's your problem, girl? You and Cap didn't have enough fun beating us at the Marina? We wasn't at our full strength then, yo!"

"Ignoring your grammatical errors," Diana said carefully, "I think you should put those berries back where you found them."

"And I think you're a little snot."

Diana straightened up defiantly. "I am not," she told them. "I am Diana Freeman, scientist and trialgoer. This is my current battle partner, Eli Frost."

"Sup," said Eli, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Frost?" The Skull grunts sounded panicked. "As in, the Hau'oli City Beach Eli Frost?"

"That's me."

"We ain't messing with that," they decided together.

Then the second grunt spoke alone. "But I can battle one person by myself. Drowzee, get rid of her!"

The Drowzee appeared in front of her, and Diana stared at it for a moment. Then she smiled a smile that would haunt the grunt's dreams for years.

"Oh, you're gonna have a bad time." She threw her own Pokeball. "Murkrow, let's go!"

* * *

"You didn't have to take Team Skull seriously," the berry man said when Diana had successfully scared off the grunts. "Still, thank you for saving my harvest. You can help yourself to any berries you find under the tree - just be careful of Crabrawler."

"Crabrawler?" Diana repeated, and Rotom flew up to display the Pokedex entry.

"Crabrawler is a Fighting-type Pokémon. It says that the pincers it uses as fists fall off, but grow back quickly. The meat is apparently delicious."

"Checks out," said Diana, and Rotom disappeared back into the bag so she could continue speaking with humans. "I'm protected from any Fighting-type. Maybe I'll get lucky and a Crabrawler will lose a claw so I can taste it!"

"How will you cook it?" Eli asked.

Diana rolled her eyes. "Well, my cursed cousin and his two Fire-types are with me...so I'll probably ask the Totem Pokémon to cook it."

"There's no need for sarcasm."

Diana got down and yanked her trial amulet from Delibird's beak, and the two left the berry farm. But she wasn't done interrogating her cousin, and she made sure he knew it.

"Why did the guy remember you from the Hau'oli City beach?"

"Oh, that?" Eli shrugged. "I was swimming. The water caught on fire. Got me banned from the beach."

"How did water catch on fire?"

"Well, it was actually seaweed floating on the surface, but I like saying it was water. It makes me sound more impressive."

"Trying to impress girls?"

He shook his head. "Trying to scare the government into stopping their undercover missions, but if it gets me a girl, I won't complain."

While she could have done something to put those thoughts to rest, she decided to encourage it instead. "The government probably heard you admit that."

Eli stopped in his tracks. "Aw, man!"


	12. Rat Patootie

**The shipping is strong in this one.**

Verdant Cavern was close to a Pokémon Center, and Hau was waiting outside. Diana agreed to get a Tapu Cocoa while waiting for her Pokémon to heal, and the three trainers compared Pokémon teams.

"Another Fire-type?" Hau asked, looking down at Growlithe.

"That's what I said." Diana playfully punched her cousin's arm. "Looks like we have a future type specialist among us."

"Should've seen that coming," Hau agreed, laughing a little. Three cups of Tapu Cocoa were placed in front of them, along with a handful of beans for their Pokémon friends.

"Knock it off, guys," Eli protested. "I can't be a specialist - my name doesn't relate to fire."

"I don't know," Diana half-sang as her own Pokémon flew over to her. "You did say your name came from hacking apart the name Helios. Helios was the name of a sun god, and the sun is hot."

"What about your Flying-type specialty?" Eli retaliated. "I don't see anything in your name relating to that."

"Di rhymes with Fly," Diana said, as if it made sense. Then she shrugged. "Then again, I chose Murkrow. Growlithe chose you." She took a sip of Tapu Cocoa in an 'I made my point' move, only to nearly choke on it. "This stuff is incredible! What's in it?"

"It's some kind of secret recipe." Hau took a sip of his own. "Does Kanto not have hot cocoa in Pokémon Centers?"

Diana shrugged. "Maybe. I never had a Pokémon in Kanto, remember?" She swallowed an entire mouthful at once, then waved to get the attention of the man behind the counter. "Is there butterscotch syrup in this?"

The man behind the counter laughed. "That and the hot cocoa itself are the only not secret ingredients," he confirmed.

"Is it alcoholic?"

"If it was, why would I give it to children?"

Diana looked into her cup, swirling the liquid around. Chocolate, butterscotch...her mind was racing with other flavors that could have been added, but she hadn't learned to cook yet. She wanted a hobby, but her mother wouldn't let her use an oven (or ice skates) no matter how she begged. She had to be 13 for both, and nothing she said ever changed her mother's mind.

"Rotom," she said, and her Pokedex buzzed in response. "Take a note. Experiment #1: Tapu Cocoa recipe."

"You got it, boss!" Rotom buzzed again, and switched himself off.

* * *

With her mission recorded, Diana approached the cavern. Ilima was waiting, and her heart fluttered a bit more than usual.

Again, Ilima remained oblivious. "Greetings! Captain Ilima here."

"Is he an alien?" Eli asked, suddenly remembering all of the movies where aliens (and talking Elgyem and Beeheyem) constantly used 'greetings' instead of 'hello.'

"I certainly hope not," said Diana, who was barely paying attention.

"But what if that's why you're drawn to him? We're descended from aliens."

"I am 99% sure that's not true."

Eli continued as if she hadn't interrupted. "What if he's from the same planet as our ancestors? What if his freaky talent is being absolutely irresistible to girls?"

Diana reluctantly tore her eyes off the Captain, who had started reading a book to let them have their conversation in peace. "I fail to see how that would help him in any way. I like boys and all, but being completely irresistible to the opposite gender sounds like more of a curse than anything else."

"You mean like spontaneous, uncontrolled fire production?"

Well, there was a point there. Diana would take her inability to get cold over either of those curses any day. But rather than let Eli know her thoughts, she approached the captain.

"Greetings," she said, trying to force Eli's theory out of her mind. "Trial goer Diana here."

Ilima tried not to smile and failed. "The trial," he said, putting his book back in the backpack laying on the ground beside him, "is inside this cave. The Pokémon inside Verdant Cavern can be fierce. I recommend you do not take this trial with only a Rowlet."

Diana subconsciously touched Stanford's ball.

"Once you enter Verdant Cavern," Ilima continued, "you will not be able to leave until the trial is complete. Are you prepared?"

"Can I take it with two Pokémon?"

"Better than one."

"Then I'm ready." She tossed out Stanford's ball, and the Rowlet made a determined sound. Ilima turned around and led her into the cavern, leaving Eli behind.

* * *

Everything inside Verdant Cavern was beautiful. It wasn't just Ilima that took Diana's breath away, but the way the sunlight landed on him like a natural spotlight was definitely a part of it.

Ilima gestured around him. "Allow me to explain my trial. There are several Pokémon dens around here. Your goal is to defeat three Pokémon living in these dens. When you reach the pedestal deep in the cave, you collect the Z-Crystal."

"What about the Totem Pokémon?" Diana asked.

Something on the other side of the cavern roared.

"I think that gave you all the information you need," Ilima decided. "Now, be warned. Not only is your cousin not allowed to cross this barrier, but until you clear this trial, you will not be able to catch Pokémon here."

"Sounds fair." Diana looked past Ilima, into the cavern. "So when do I start?"

"Whenever you're ready. I will be here watching the whole time. Just in case you get eaten, or something."

Diana made sure Stanford was still ready, and moved forward.

The first two Pokémon, both the Alolan form of Rattata, were easy to find and defeat. The last one was more difficult. It moved from one hole to another, and she was sure Ilima was laughing at her as she ran around like an idiot, attempting to catch it. But she had fun, almost enough fun to make her forget that she was making a fool of herself in front of the first boy she ever liked.

Then two Team Skull grunts showed up, and all the fun vanished.

"We're the berry thief boys, back again!" one grunt announced. "Remember us?"

Diana blinked. "Who are you?"

Their dancing stopped. "For real?" one asked, sounding genuinely hurt.

"Does it matter?" the other grunt asked him. "We're here to mess up her trial, not ask her out!"

"Dude, she's eleven! I would never!"

Diana facepalmed. "Why do you want to mess up my trial anyway? You're just cheesing off the Totem, you know."

"Ignore that!" The grunt pointed at Diana. "Let's get the Pokémon and get out of here!"

Diana looked down at Ilima, who was watching carefully, a Pokeball in hand. "Is this part of my trial?" she asked him.

"Why would I want to associate myself with Team Skull?" Ilima asked in return.

"Just clearing that up." Diana sent out a Pokémon of her own. "Murkrow, let's go!"

* * *

When Murkrow defeated the grunt's Drowzee for the second time, the grunts ran away, searching in the dens for the Pokémon. Diana, once she was sure Ilima would take care of it if they tried something else, went to the third hole and found an Alolan Raticate inside. This battle was a little harder, but Stanford won, learning Razor Leaf in the process.

Which meant that Diana was free to talk to the man guarding the other exit, which led her into the Totem's area. She made sure to heal Stanford with a Potion or two, and slowly approached the shiny object on the pedestal.

Then a large Raticate jumped at her, and both Diana and Stanford could feel the strange aura around it.

This had to be the Totem Pokémon. Diana immediately decided that she could use Murkrow if she had to.

But she was prepared. "Stanford, Razor Leaf until you can't do it anymore!"

She was thrown off a bit by the Totem calling for help, and by the fact that it didn't go down after two hits like everything she'd faced before. But Razor Leaf hit both the Raticate and the Rattata assistant, and the Rattata_ did_ go down in two hits.

So, after only five attacks, and a few healing items on Diana's end, the Raticate retreated.

"What an incredible trainer you are!" Ilima's voice said from behind her, and Diana was very aware of her Rotomdex snickering in her bag as she turned around to look at the approaching Captain. "You actually defeated not just the Totem Pokémon that I trained up to such a powerful state...you defeated its four accomplices. With nothing...but a Rowlet."

He was actually_ stunned_ by this. How adorable.

"So..." Diana cleared her throat and tilted her head toward the pedestal. "Do I...?"

"Of course." Ilima's voice was slightly squeakier than usual. Clearly, he was just as impressed by Diana as she was with him. Diana removed the Z-Crystal, giggling like the child she really was, and held it up to the light. Ilima pushed his remaining shock aside to explain. "That is the Normalium Z," he said. "If you give it to a Pokémon that knows a Normal-type move..." he did an awkward little dance that left Diana's mouth twitching in amusement, "then you can turn it into a Z-Move."

"Do I have to dance like that?"

"Yes," Ilima answered without hesitation. "Yes, you do."

Diana reluctantly attempted to imitate the dance, and was not surprised that she got it wrong. However, the fact that Ilima stepped in to adjust her poses made her very, very happy.

When he finally told her that she got it right, he gave her permission to catch the Pokémon she found in the cave, gave her some Great Balls, and left to make sure Eli hadn't burned down anything.

Rotom floated out of her bag. "You know, I recorded everything - your fight with the Totem and everything that came after. You could have asked me to play it for you to study."

"Then why didn't you tell me you were recording?"

"Because you seemed to like having your little dreamboat around you even more." He buzzed happily. "I think he likes you, too."

"Really?"

"Yeah! You're a great trainer, and I heard humans sometimes use that as a courtship ritual."

Diana blushed harder than she ever had before. "I don't want to think about that yet. I just like looking at him."

"Then let's go and get even stronger, so you can show off even more!"


	13. Rescue Services

**Eli barely knows Lillie, but he still accepts that this is his life now.**

Ilima had told Eli about the trial, and Diana was surprised that the ground around him was uncharred. He explained that he had played with his Pokémon the entire time, but that wasn't much of an explanation. If anything, it only raised further questions.

Ilima didn't pay much attention to him. "Have you encountered captain's barricades before?" he asked Diana, and she took a moment to think.

"No," she replied, confident in her answer. "But I'm sure I know what they are. They're there to keep us all on one certain path, right?"

"Actually, they exist to keep the stronger wild Pokémon out of the towns. Anyone can pass through them, if they are or are escorted by a strong trainer." He gave another one of his heart-melting smiles. "Are you ready?"

"To move to the next place?"

"Of course."

Diana nodded. Ilima pulled a small remote from his pocket, and pressed a button. In the distance, the cousins saw a gate open.

"I recommend you clear the trials to open the barricades," Ilima told her, "and not tell Eli to burn it down."

Had it been anyone else, Diana would have said "I do what I want" and used Eli to access more training grounds between trials. But, since it was Ilima, she nodded in agreement.

"I am the only captain on Melemele Island," Ilima continued. "Which means that your next battle is against Kahuna Hala himself."

"And beating him means that you two can leave the island!" Kukui's voice said, and Diana looked up to see that the professor had yet again sneaked up on her. He laughed. "So, from the look on Ilima's face, I'm guessing you cleared your first trial?"

"I did!" Diana confirmed, unable to stop her own enthusiasm.

"So let me give you a little reward!"

"Please don't!" Diana said in the exact same voice.

"But how else will you learn about Z-Power?"

"Ilima told me how to use the Normalium-Z," Diana protested. "You do a weird dance and the Pokémon does the thing!"

"But did he warn you that it takes energy out of the trainer, too?" He looked at the captain, who seemed to be embarrassed. "I'm guessing from_ that_ look on Ilima's face that he didn't." Kukui looked around. "Wait a minute. Has anyone seen Lillie?"

"How do you lose an entire girl?" Eli demanded.

"Relax, cousin." Kukui stopped himself, looked over at Eli's_ actual _cousin, and immediately pretended that he hadn't said anything. "She couldn't have gotten that far. We'll just split up to look for her."

* * *

Diana and Eli decided that they weren't going to look for Lillie, but that they would take her back to the professor if they found her. Instead, their plan was to go and explore what completing the trial got her.

"I've always wondered what the top of a cliff looked like," Eli said as he stayed very far away from the edge. "Look at all that water! It's cool!"

Diana grinned. "Set it on fire for me?"

Eli grinned back, then braced himself as if he was doing a Z-Move himself. Then he changed his stance into something Diana recognized as Firebending from the cartoon, and punched straight ahead.

There wasn't even a spark. Eli, as if he was used to such disappointment, dropped his fist to his side and changed positions again, into something more Dragon Ball this time.

Fire shot out from somewhere at his side. Both cousins turned around, only to find his Litten looking up at him sadly.

**"I thought I could help,"** he said, almost like an apology.** "I guess my Ember can't reach that far."**

As disappointed as she was, Diana pretended not to care. "It's ok, boys. I can use a Z-Move on it, probably."

"Let's not," said Rotom, and Diana couldn't hold her disappointment anymore. "The sun's going down. I want to get to a safe place before it gets too late."

Both cousins were silent.

"Dude," Eli said after a moment, "you're a_ ghost."_

Rotom buzzed, this time in annoyance. "Where did I say that I was worried about_ me?"_

Eli shivered, triggering the appearance of a surprising number of sparks on the rocks under his feet. "Ok, you have a point. Let's go get Lillie."

Diana, still unaffected, stomped out a few sparks before heading down the path, away from the safety of Hau'oli City. "Well, we're wasting time here. Race you to the top!"

Eli looked out at the water, decided that there was still time, and followed.

* * *

They raced up the cliff, laughing, as not a single spark followed Eli to the top. And when they entered Melemele Meadow, just as the sun started to go down, they calmed down, and Rotom left Diana's bag to see Lillie standing there. She looked panicked, and Diana sighed.

"Where did Cosmog go this time?"

Clearly, she'd guessed right. "Into the meadow," Lillie explained weakly. She pointed at a ledge across the meadow. "And without Nebby, I don't have any Pokémon, and without Pokémon, my Repels won't work. And it doesn't have any moves it can use in battle!"

"So you want me to get it." It wasn't a question.

Lillie smiled nervously. "Please?"

Diana_ really_ didn't want to. In fact, she was prepared to turn around - any distraction that had come from Lillie's beauty was gone, replaced by the sheer annoyance of being used as a one-woman Pokémon rescue service.

But Ilima might notice if she did something...

But Cosmog was just like her, and there could only be one person running ahead after whatever caught her interest here.

But being seen as a hero by cute boys...

As she was debating, Eli made his way across the meadow, Robbie and Growlithe following behind him. He picked up the Cosmog, which screamed in protest, and brought it back to Lillie.

"Open your bag," he told her.

She did, and Eli dropped the whining Pokémon in it. Diana noticed the slight disappointment on his face, and she made a mental note to ask if he found any jewels in there.

The three left the cave together, encountering Hau by the exit.

"Eli! Diana!" He saw Lillie, paused, and his smile grew wider. "And Lillie, too!"

Lillie smiled back. "What are you up to, Hau?"

"Just finished up my trial! What about you?"

Lillie shrugged. "Nebby," she said, which was all the explanation Hau needed. She must have trusted him enough to let him know about Cosmog's existence, too.

"Not fun keeping something out of trouble, is it?" He looked over at Eli pointedly. Then he laughed and turned to Diana. "So, have you finished your trial?"

"Why?"

"Because I want to battle you."

Diana went quiet. "Yeah, ok."

* * *

She won. Again.

Hau's Pikachu managed to take out Murkrow with a single Electro Ball, but Stanford defeated both Pikachu and Popplio with just a few Razor Leaf attacks. Hau, as always, was a good loser, and accepted Lillie's offer to heal his team.

That's when the professor arrived, following a low-flying Braviary. He was clearly the professor's, because he landed in front of Lillie and screamed.

"Ok, so Ilima and I couldn't find her, and then we ran into two Team Skull grunts sulking because some 'she' didn't remember them..."

"I'm the she," Diana interrupted. She remembered the grunts now, but after hearing that, she probably wasn't going to acknowledge that.

"So it wasn't Lillie, huh?" Kukui looked past her to see the other girl giving Hau his Pokémon back. "Well, we found her. Let's go back to Iki Town and wait for your Grand Trial."

"_Grand_ Trial?" Diana repeated, not sure she wanted another encounter with something like that Raticate so soon.

Fortunately, Hau explained. "You just battle the kahuna," he explained. "You don't have anything to worry about. You have Flying-types, Gramps uses Fighting. You'd win on type alone." He stopped to consider. "Well, Stanford might."

"Murkrow is part-Dark," Diana admitted. "Do you think Grandma would lend me her Mismagius, or would she consider that cheating?"

"I'm not sure Grandma ever caught Mismagius," Eli confessed. "It might just be living in her house."

"I don't think Grandpa would let a wild Mismagius eat their food for 30 years straight. It's definitely hers."

"She's been feeding and healing wild Pokémon since they got married. It's not surprising that one of them decided to live there."

"I can ask for you guys," Rotom chimed in.

They returned to Eli's house, debating it the whole time.


	14. Grand Trial

**Diana just keeps getting more confident in her battle abilities. Unfortunately, she was never short of confidence in the first place.**

"Wake up, kids!" Stella called the next morning, knocking on Eli's door loudly enough to make her point. Diana whined and Eli shoved his head under the pillow, but she didn't care. "I went to check on Meowth already, Diana, so you don't have to. You just focus on your Grand Trial."

"Can't the kahuna wait?"

"I don't know."

"Didn't you do the trials when you were a kid?" Diana asked, and her aunt laughed.

"That's a question you should ask your mother. She was always more into competitive battling than I was."

"She did mention she moved to Kanto because Kanto had an actual League." Diana pushed herself up, wondering for a moment why her mother had given up being a trainer. It couldn't have been because she became a mom, right?

She smacked Eli with her pillow, but he was expecting it and hit her back. "We should hurry," she told him as if nothing had happened, before grabbing her suitcase to get actual, non-sleeping clothes and dragging it to the bathroom.

Only an hour later, the cousins left Eli's house to head to the center of Iki Town, where Hala already waited.

Diana stood on the platform where she'd faced Hau at the start of her journey. Neither of her Pokémon knew a Normal-type move, since Stanford had shown a preference for type-advantaging his way out of things, which left using a Z-Move off the table. She'd given an Oran Berry to each of them, and figured that she could type-advantage_ her_ way out of this. It shouldn't be harder than Hau's Pikachu.

She saw a small crowd gather. She noticed several familiar faces - her aunt, uncle, and grandparents were watching with Hau, Rotomdex, and a young man with pink hair.

Ilima nodded, showing his confidence in her abilities after clearing his trial with just a Rowlet. Diana pointedly looked away to keep him from noticing that she was still blushing from the sight of him.

"She's got this," she heard Rotom tell Eli.

Eli nodded, too. "The real question is if Hala's prepared for the aftermath."

"Diana," Hala stated, and Diana held her head up high. "You were gifted with the Sparkling Stone by Tapu Koko. You and your partner Rowlet have cleared Captain Ilima's trial." He struck a pose. "Now, show me the true strength of your team!"

Diana mimicked his pose, getting a chuckle from the audience. "Rotom," she commanded, and her Pokedex zoomed up to stand beside her instead of in the crowd. "Play boss music!"

Rotom didn't need an explanation.

* * *

For once, the platform did not catch fire. Everyone was grateful for that.

Murkrow defeated Hala's Mankey, thanks to the Oran Berry. He wouldn't have been able to take more than two attacks otherwise. He'd lost to the Makuhita that had followed, despite Diana's use of a Potion, but she blamed typing for that one.

After all, Stanford was much luckier. He finished off Makuhita, and though defeating an opponent took more attempts with Peck than Murkrow's Wing Attack, the fact that he stayed on his feet after the Crabrawler used a Z-Move was more impressive than anything Diana could think of.

And, of course, once Crabrawler was down, Stanford evolved.

Rotom buzzed in excitement, and Eli had to hold him still to keep him from interrupting Hala's wrap-up commentary to give Diana the new Pokedex entry.

"A Dartrix throws blade quills at would-be hunters and prey," Rotom said, so the recording he was taking would get it, even if Diana herself couldn't hear at the moment. "It rarely, if ever, misses."

Hala laughed, even as Diana smoothed her Dartrix's feathers and promised him beans. "What a fine team the three of you are," he observed. Even from a distance, the small crowd could hear Tapu Koko's cry of agreement. Hala came closer, holding out his hand. "Accept this Z-Crystal. The Fightinium Z allows you to join your strength with that of your Pokémon, as long as you move your arms like this."

His movements weren't a dance like Ilima's. Just punching the air, basically - Diana got it on her second try. Stanford cheered and gave her leg a playful headbutt.

Hala held out his hand. "Now, if I could see your trainer's passport..."

Diana handed it over. "Can I ask why?"

At least he was quick about it. He stamped it and handed it back to her. "The Melemele stamp is proof of your accomplishments. It will also allow the captains and kahunas of the other islands to set their challenges to your skill level." He looked down at the Dartrix on the ground, then over at Ilima. "Or at least the average skill level for someone with only these accomplishments."

Diana's smile returned. "Ilima told you, too, huh?"

"A Rowlet_ alone?"_ Hala chuckled. "No wonder Hau isn't disappointed from losing to you." He pulled another device from his pocket. "As for something you can do, I've decided that you and your cousin should be able to use Ride Pagers. With these, and the proper safety gear, you should be able to ride Pokémon to get you into even more locations."

"And even more trouble," Hau added with a laugh.

"Only if they use these Pokémon irresponsibly - and my Tauros has a very low tolerance for irresponsibility."

Diana felt a hand on her shoulder. Her grandfather had arrived. "The other one can take mine," he told her. "He's pretty irresponsible himself."

"Dad," Stella warned, but Diana was grateful.

Mismagius screamed in happiness and started to float away from town, turning back just before she was out of view and making an impatient noise.

"She wants us to go back to Hau'oli City," Rotom translated.

"Then we'll get you two some riding gear," Diana's grandfather announced.

The whole family left together, but Diana was stopped at the back. "Could I speak to you?" Ilima asked, and she only stared in response. He took it as a yes. "I wanted to challenge you to another battle. You won this one without using Z-Power, but if you wanted more practice with...Stanford, was it?" The Dartrix made a noise to confirm it. "I would be willing to help."

"I'm...um...yes." She was suddenly aware of the others looking back for her. Some of them were laughing. "I can battle you, any time you want it. Want_ to._ I can...yeah."

He gently placed a slip of paper into her hand. "My address," he told her, before saying goodbye and leaving, allowing her to rejoin her family.

"Should I have recorded that for your parents?" Rotom asked, and Diana shook her head.

"The last thing I need is them finding out I can't talk to cute boys. I'll handle that myself."

* * *

The cousins both got their riding gear, and once their grandfather's Tauros was put into the training that would make him rideable, Diana promptly dragged Eli off to Ilima's house.

To put it simply, it was big. Diana sucked a breath in through her teeth. Of course he lived in one of the biggest houses on the island. Cute, strong, smart, nice, rich...he wasn't just out of her league, they were barely playing the same sport.

A man saw them immediately. "You must be Diana," he said, and she nodded, confused. "Ilima mentioned that you'd promised him a battle."

"I did."

"So, tell me...what do you think of my son?"

Eli and Rotom snickered as Diana blushed again. "Specifically?" she asked weakly, and Ilima's father laughed.

"As a captain," he specified.

Oh. That's a relief. "I don't have much to compare him to," Diana said, "but I think Ilima is a great captain."

"That's good to hear. He's always been so obsessed with battles, I was worried how he'd take it when he learned captains don't battle trial goers themselves." He gestured to the stairs. "He's waiting up in his room. It's the one with the sign on the door."

They followed the vague directions and found Ilima by his window, preparing for the battle.

"We're here," Eli announced, surprising the captain.

"You...brought Eli."

"We travel together," Eli pointed out. "You get a break from me in the trial area, but now?" He shrugged. "I probably won't melt your face."

Ilima decided to take what he could get. "Are you ready, Diana?"

"Of course."

"Then let's head back to the Trainer's School." He looked around at the bookshelves. "There are things here I'd rather not have Eli near for long."


	15. A Girl and Her Dog

**This chapter didn't get combined with the next for two reasons. One, it features a new Pokémon. Two, it sets up for a joke later on.**

When the battle ended, Ilima laughed. "Well done, Diana!" There wasn't even a hint of disappointment at his second loss to the girl. "That was the best I could have hoped for!"

It was the best Diana could have hoped for, too. The way he looked in that battle would never leave her mind. She kept her eyes on him as he led them all the way back to his house, and they stood in the kitchen, each with a half-eaten cookie in hand. Even Rotom had emerged from the Pokedex to take one.

"I suppose I shouldn't keep you longer," Ilima said, and Diana shoved Rotom's cookie into his mouth to keep him from talking. She was sure Ilima couldn't understand Pokémon, but the talent wasn't completely unheard of. Ilima definitely noticed that, but when Diana shook her head, he let it go and pulled an Everstone from his pocket. "You're aware of what this is, I'm sure."

"You give it to a Pokémon," Diana said quickly. "It stops the evolution and makes it stay in the form you want it to."

"Correct. But I'd like to consider it a symbol of our friendship. You're heading to a new island soon, I hear. I should keep training so I can actually win one of these days."

"I should get a Pokémon that isn't a bird."

"You haven't seen one you wanted yet?" Diana shook her head. "Well. I hear you can catch Rockruff down at Ten Carat Hill. It should come in handy if you ever face a Fire-type." He looked pointedly at Eli, then back to Diana. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey."

"You, too."

This time, it was Eli's turn to shove a cookie into Rotom's mouth before he could jump back into the Pokedex to speak his mind.

* * *

So that was what led the trio to the hidden hollow of Ten Carat Hill, surrounded by their Pokémon and several Carbink. Diana considered catching one of those, too, but figured a Rockruff was the better idea.

She didn't expect them to be so hard to find.

"This shouldn't be so difficult," Diana muttered, eyes scanning the hollow for any sign of the adorable creatures. Still, she sat where she was, not bothering to move.

"I'm not sure why I bothered coming," Eli added, though he knew why. Something about this place resonated with him, and it made him wonder if this was where his great-something grandparents had landed. Diana not giving up only made the theory stronger in his mind - she must have felt it, too, even if only subconsciously. But he wasn't about to say any of that out loud when he knew he'd be laughed at, so instead of asking if she wanted to help find the spacecraft, he flopped on his back and stretched out. "Here, cute things, cute things!" He whistled sharply to make his point. "We know you're out here! Help us out!"

A nearby Carbink made an offended sound.** "So now we're not cute enough for the humans?"**

Growlithe suddenly jumped to attention, and Robbie's ears twitched. A Rockruff stepped into view seconds later, and both of Diana's birds suddenly realized that going up against this thing might not be a good idea for either of them.

Rotom realized it, too. "Uh, Diana? Maybe we should go and look for a Cutiefly. or a Gastly, or..."

"We came all the way here," she reminded them all. "Besides, we can take it. Stanford?" The Dartrix flinched, but looked up. "You can do this part."

Stanford looked to Murkrow for help, but Murkrow disappeared into his own ball.** "Coward," **Stanford hissed.

Murkrow gave no sign of hearing him.

**"This is a catching thing, isn't it?"** The Rockruff had been paying attention, after all.** "I just thought the kids were type specialists looking for more birds."**

**"Nope. A trial goer and a Fire-type human."** Stanford looked at Diana first, then Eli.** "They're all right, though. They might need more supervision than the average trainer, but I _chose_ her, and both of the Fire-types chose the boy."**

**"Really?"** Rockruff looked at Diana again, and then his tail started wagging.** "Then I can help you give them supervision! They can't be all bad!"**

Stanford looked surprised.** "You do know we have to battle, right?"**

**"Yeah! But I've always wanted to leave the island. She can help."**

Stanford made eye contact with his trainer and nodded. Diana didn't need Rotom to explain that. "Use Leafage! But...gently."

It wasn't as easy as catching Murkrow had been, but they left Ten Carat Hill with a new teammate, unaware of the Pokémon that fled in fear from them.

* * *

After stopping at the professor's lab to see if he and Lillie needed help, they returned to Eli's house for the last night for a while. Meowth came with them.

"Professor Kukui said he'd be taking us all to another island tomorrow," Diana announced to her guardians, right before she headed off to bed. "I just thought I should let you know about that."

"You couldn't have told us earlier?" Stella complained, and Diana shrugged.

"You were at my Grand Trial. You should have known I was leaving. Besides, I'm taking Eli. Think of it as a break from random fires for a while."

Even Eli had to admit that it sounded like a good time, and his mom agreed. "Be careful out there," she warned. "Po Town is due for a storm soon, and I'm not sure if you'll miss it. The volcano on Akala Island is not a toy, nor is it perfect for a mad scientist base."

Now that she'd mentioned a volcano, it was suddenly all Diana could think about. Her immunity to uncomfortable temperature would let her have an easier time climbing the volcano than most people, but having Eli around it...

That sounded like an_ experiment._

Rotom caught the look in her eye. "Absolutely not," he told her, then looked back at her aunt. "I promise to keep these kids out of trouble."

Eli knew better. "Yeah, good luck with that. Better calculators than you have tried."

Rotom smacked the back of his head, not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make a point. "Bedtime. Go."

"You're not my mom!"

"Bedtime, Eli," Stella agreed.

For that, he had no defense, and shuffled off to his room. Diana fought the urge to laugh as she walked into the bathroom.

She dreamed of power that night. She was on a throne made of fire, holding a scepter made of Z-Crystals, with Stanford and Murkrow and Rockruff standing guard. Eli and his Pokémon were there in the background, in a position of some power themselves, but she was the one in charge. Professor Kukui was begging for mercy from a cage - a subconscious manifestation of her desire to make him pay for not telling her about Lillie.

She woke up to see Rockruff smothering a small flame on the floor before it could damage much. Diana rubbed his head to thank him, then whacked Eli with her pillow.

* * *

Morning found four children and a professor boarding a boat to Akala Island. Diana had decided to follow her own advice to Lillie, and had removed the hat her mother had gotten her to wear.

Lillie noticed. "Your hat's gone."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

"I thought you liked it."

Diana stared her down. "I was wearing a flowerpot on my head. My mom picked it out for me because she thought it was 'cute.' I already messed up my first impression with Ilima, I'm not risking that again."

Lillie smiled slightly. "So you think you'll find a boyfriend on this next island?"

Diana shrugged. "I don't really care. I like looking at boys, but I don't like what it does to my brain. I'm a scientist, dang it, not a desperate boy-crazy nitwit."

"I'm sure you're not," Lillie promised. "It's probably just that puberty thing that the TV characters are always complaining about."

"Then why don't you drool at the sight of cute guys? Isn't it affecting you, too?"

Lillie looked over to Eli and Hau, who were both attempting to Firebend again. Neither was succeeding. "It's not that I don't. I just..." She was silent for a moment as Eli attempted to beat the air into submission and Hau tried so hard to breathe fire he got light-headed and fell over. "I have yet to meet my type." Diana nodded, but her verbal agreement was cut off when Lillie spoke again. "Besides, I'm on a mission to help Nebby. I'll deal with growing up later."

Diana groaned. In her opinion, the reason Cosmog always left that bag was because Lillie had chosen that particular nickname, but she couldn't just come out and say that. "Why don't you catch another Pokémon or two, so my cousin and I don't have to go and save your Cosmog whenever it gets itself into trouble?"

"I've thought about that before. But Nebby doesn't listen to me often anyway, so I don't want to see what would happen if there was a battle situation." From the bag, Cosmog made the 'pew' sound again. Diana laughed out loud. Lillie smiled. "Besides, I want to send Nebby home one day. Promise me you'll help?"

Diana almost spoke. Then there was a commotion from the boys. The sail on the boat had been Eli'd, and her attention was needed elsewhere.

"Which one of us did that?" Hau asked nervously.

Rotom waved its arms wildly. "Take a wild guess!"

Hau punched the air once more. Nothing happened, and he crossed his arms behind his head. "Just checking."


	16. New Faces

**In which Diana wants to be a jewel thief.**

The boat made it to its destination, and the four kids raced to the exit, paying no attention to the professor when he warned them to slow down. Hau even jumped from the side of the boat, landing on his feet when they were all convinced he'd land on his head.

"Land ahoy!" he cheered, and Lillie smiled awkwardly.

"Isn't it a bit late to declare 'land ahoy' if you're already on shore?"

"It was a joke!" Hau protested, looking more embarrassed than anything. He turned to the cousins. "Come on! It was funny, right?"

"A little bit," said Eli, stepping in before Diana could reply.

Hau relaxed a little. "What about you, Professor?"

Kukui laughed. "The land is certainly ahoy, my boy!"

All four kids facepalmed, but Kukui and Cosmog both roared with laughter until a woman arrived.

Diana stopped her internal groaning immediately. The woman was tall, dark, and gorgeous - Eli even stared as she approached. Diana stared, too. Shiny jewels covered the woman's neck and wrists, and Diana suddenly recognized one of her mismatched earrings as the match to the one her Murkrow had given her as a sign of trust.

She heard Lillie whisper "Get back in the bag," which was followed immediately by the professor reassuring her that it was fine.

This was all just a thought at the back of her mind, however. Most of her mind was saying,_ Wow. Much sparkle. Much pretty._

The woman seemed used to it, and paid no attention to Diana, Eli, or Hau, all of them distracted by how pretty and reflective she was. She only had eyes for Kukui.

"I see you still haven't found a shirt to go with that lab coat," she teased, and the professor laughed, too.

"Nice to see you again, Olivia."

Then a girl with green pigtails skidded to a stop, glaring at Olivia pointedly. "You said you weren't going to leave me behind in a big city anymore!"

Olivia flinched. "Sorry about that. I just needed to see who was coming to my island." She smiled. "It looks like we've got some challengers coming!"

The girl's anger faded as she looked at the kids. "Really? Three in a row, huh?" She grinned and held out a hand. "I'm Captain Mallow! Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, too," said Hau, "but we've only got two people taking the challenge."

"That's a relief. I'm sure the other captains can use a break, too."

Olivia nodded. "It does make it easier," she agreed. "I look forward to facing you two in battle. I'll see you later, then!"

And she and Mallow both left.

"I take it she was the kahuna?" Diana asked.

"She was," said Kukui. "But there are three trials between you and her. The first is in Paniola Town."

"I've got the map!" Rotom called from the bag.

Diana pulled him out. "So, where's the Pokémon Center?"

* * *

They had barely started before they ran into Lillie in front of a clothing store again. This time, she was looking around suspiciously, and Cosmog was attempting to eat a weed growing in the cracks of the pavement. She jumped when she saw them, but relaxed when she recognized them.

Eli frowned. "Ok. What did you steal?"

"Steal?" Lillie looked shocked and offended that he could come to that conclusion. "I didn't steal anything! I was just looking through the window at the clothes on my way to the Ruins of Life, looking for Tapu Lele for Nebby…"

"When it escaped the bag," Diana finished, struggling not to roll her eyes. "I still don't know why you don't turn it in to the scientific community."

"I have my reasons." Before they could ask, she ordered Cosmog back into her bag, and it agreed. "I'll let you two shop. You can meet me at the Tide Song Hotel, if you want to come to the ruins with me. I'm going to be meeting someone important there."

"Important to you, or important to the plot?" Diana asked.

"A little of both. Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell him about you. He deserves every warning label possible." Lillie smiled and waved, before leaving them on their own.

When he was sure she was out of earshot, Eli looked back at Diana. "Her accomplice?"

"Not my problem," Diana told him, and went into the shop herself in search of more shinies. She emerged fifteen minutes later, empty-handed.

* * *

Rotom located the hotel on the map, and led the way. Almost as soon as they entered the hotel's property line, Rotom was forced to retreat as they were stopped by two strange people. A man and a woman, both dressed like typical tourists, but there was something about them that made Diana curious.

"Are you doing the island challenge?" the man asked. He had a foreign accent, but it was hard for Diana to place where it was from. Kalos, maybe?

"I am," Diana confirmed, suspicious. "Why?"

"I'm Dexio. This is my coworker, Sina."

"A beautiful name for a beautiful lady!" Sina laughed.

Dexio ignored her. "I saw your Rotomdex and had to ask you a favor. We're here to see the sights of Alola and do some research for Professor Sycamore."

"Research?" Diana perked up. "What kind of research?"

"We're not going to just tell you that," Sina interrupted. She smiled. "You're going to have to beat me in battle first!"

"But why would he say that if you weren't going to tell us?" she complained.

"To get you interested, really." Dexio didn't sound sorry.

Diana would make him sorry, though. "Double battle! My partner here is Eli!"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Eli protested.

"Nope!"

He slumped but accepted his fate. "Growlithe, start us off!"

* * *

Despite everything, the cousins lost the battle. This came as a surprise to Diana, who was used to 2-hit KO-ing everything that got in her way, but Eli seemed to have expected it. After all, Stanford had a double weakness to Sina's Ice-types, and Murkrow didn't do much better, so the stronger of the pair was doomed. Eli could take out Sina's team with little effort, but he and Dexio both lacked an advantage over the other.

Still, Dexio and Sina weren't going to let them just run to the Pokémon Center. "It makes me think of the kids that saved Kalos not long ago," Dexio said, and Sina nodded.

"We can tell them," she decided. "It'll help us get back to Kalos before -"

"Yes, yes, I know you're on a deadline." They could almost see Dexio roll his eyes behind his sunglasses.

Sina just stuck out her tongue like a child, then handed Diana a black and green object. "It's the Zygarde Cube," she explained. "It's to collect the Cores and Cells of the legendary Pokémon of Kalos - Zygarde. Professor Sycamore sent us to find it so it could protect Kalos from another threat, but we're stuck in the field lab that Professor Burnet let us use. You seemed to be interested in science."

"You have no idea," Eli laughed. "Seriously, save yourselves."

"It's what I always wanted to do when I grew up," Diana added. She gestured to her cousin. "He's just afraid I'll experiment on him."

"Will you?" Dexio asked, half-afraid.

"Of course not. I don't experiment _on _living things, I experiment _with _living things."

Sina smiled brightly. "Then you'll help for sure! Find the Zygarde pieces, and report back to the lab. We'll take it back to its home."

"And what makes you so sure I won't use this opportunity to have my very own legendary?"

Dexio got down to her height. "Because," he said carefully, "you won't be able to control it."

"Do you have proof?" Diana challenged. "Or is that just an unverified hypothesis?"

"You couldn't beat us here," he reminded her.

"Time will make us stronger."

"And it will also make_ us_ stronger," Sina pointed out.

Diana sighed. "Fair enough."

She put the Zygarde Cube in her bag, telling Rotom to guard it when he wasn't using his map or camera functions. She'd probably just forget it later, but the promise of science was better than no science at all.


	17. Rivals

**Hau has a little too much confidence, but at least he has fun.**

The cousins started down Route 4 immediately after getting the Zygarde Cube, agreeing to pretend it never happened unless they found a Zygarde piece. They got a few battles in, triggering Robbie's evolution - and another Pokedex experiment.

"It says that a punch from a Torracat's front legs can bend an iron bar," Rotom announced, getting a "Cool" from everyone who listened, including the Torracat.

**"Where's an abandoned building?"** Robbie asked, alone, the look in his eyes matching the look in Diana's.

"I wonder if we can test this..." Diana said under her breath, looking around for the very same thing that Robbie was searching for.

Rotom cringed. "Well, that's creepy."

Eli, who couldn't understand his Torracat and had learned to not pay attention to every single one of Diana's experiment ideas, gave Rotom a disappointed look. "I thought you knew Diana wanted to challenge Pokedex entries."

"I did." Rotom gestured to Robbie. "I was talking about how Robbie is apparently willing to be her test subject."

Eli looked over at Diana, who was now watching something else. "At least she has a short attention span," he said hopefully.

Rotom snickered. "But I got the Pokedex entry and her reaction to it on video. It's on YouTube now."

"That doesn't mean that she'll remember it before Robbie becomes an Incineroar."

Diana suddenly turned back. "Hey, Rotom! There's a weird-looking slug up here, I need a Pokedex!"

The slug crawled into Diana's bag, and was immediately zapped into the cube. The entire group of heroes went silent.

"Never mind, I know what it is," said Diana, and the adventure continued.

* * *

Entering Paniola Town brought them face-to-face with Hau again. This wasn't a surprise, since he did come with them to the island, but Diana found herself wishing that she could continue exploring without him. He was a nice enough boy, but she had more important things to do than accept every single challenge he gave her.

And, because she had no sense of when not to be a jerk, she said so out loud.

Fortunately, Hau didn't seem to care. "We're rivals, Diana," he pointed out. "That means we have to battle each other every time we meet. One of us has to be stronger, right?"

"It's pretty consistently been me," Diana reminded him. "I like you, Hau. I don't want to be responsible for crushing your hopes and dreams."

"You won't!" Hau promised. "Especially since I'm going to beat you!"

Diana looked at Eli for help, but he just stepped back, clearly telling her that he wanted no part in this conversation. She sighed. "Fine. Let's do this."

"Awesome!" Hau tossed his first Pokeball. "Ok, Pikachu! Let's show her what we're made of!"

Clearly, he thought she was still a Flying-type specialist. "Rockruff, let's go!"

Sure enough, Hau was surprised by this. "What happened to 'Di rhymes with Fly?' I thought you were giving your cousin some company in being a type specialist!"

Diana shrugged. "I figured having a more diverse team would help me with collecting Z-Crystals."

"Can't argue with that," Hau agreed.

"Good." Diana pointed at Pikachu. "Rock Throw!"

It took more than 2 hits to take down Pikachu. But, just as Diana had predicted, Pikachu was called back, and replaced with a Pokémon that had to be the second stage of Popplio.

"Rotom?" Diana asked, and Rotom buzzed, pulling up several Pokedex entries.

"It says that Brionne likes to dance and assault opponents with water bubbles," he told her. "Not the typical Bubble attacks, but more like making its own water balloons. Does it need further investigation?"

"Nope."

Hau laughed. "Well, since you took a turn looking it up...Brionne! You know what to do!"

And Rockruff fell to type disadvantage. Diana didn't flinch, merely called out Stanford to do the same thing to Brionne.

"That's too bad," Hau said to his starter as soon as it was declared unable to battle. "I should get something to counter Grass-types."

"Probably," Diana agreed. "And you should probably stop challenging me, at least until we both finish up our trials."

"That's not gonna happen." Hau plopped an arm over her shoulders, ignoring her cry of surprise. "I'm going to beat you someday, Diana! You can count on that!"

"Only if I take it easy on you." But she was smiling now, too. "So, I'm hungry. Is there anywhere we can go?"

"You'll have to find out yourselves." He nodded at Eli, then let go of Diana. "I'm heading up to Paniola Ranch. I'll see you later!"

He ran off, stopping at a Pokémon Center on his way. The cousins decided that this sounded like a great idea, and followed him to the building.

* * *

They spent the night there at the Pokémon Center, and left early in the morning to head through Paniola Ranch. It was, according to the map, the only way to get to the next trial, so they had no real choice.

Just like Diana had no choice but to get a Stoutland registered on her Ride Pager, courtesy of Captain Mallow.

"Why?" was all she could say to that.

"Stoutland can find items buried in the dirt," Mallow explained. "It'll be super helpful!"

"I was kind of hoping you'd just give me my trial while I was here," Diana said, and Mallow shook her head.

"My trial's up past Brooklet Hill, where my friend Lana's is. Then there's the Wela Volcano, where Kiawe's trial is set up._ Then_ there's mine."

"I see." Diana called Rotom to show her the map to Brooklet Hill. It didn't look too far away. "Then I guess I'll see you at your trial?"

"Probably." Mallow laughed, then disappeared.

Eli watched her go. "She seems nice," he said suspicuously.

"Annoyingly nice," Diana agreed.

"What do you think she's hiding?"

She carefully looked him over. He didn't seem to be kidding. "If I had to guess? I'd say she's a cult leader who feeds those who fail her trial to the Miltank goddess so she can have the tastiest Moomoo Milk in Alola."

"Stop encouraging him!" Rotom complained.

Eli paid no attention to the Pokedex, and simply nodded as if that confirmed everything he was thinking. "You're learning fast, Diana. Here I thought you'd use logic and facts and say she was a normal girl. I'll make a conspiracy nut out of you yet."

Diana shook her head in disappointment, but said nothing. Eli had always been like that. The strange part about him wasn't that he talked about cults and Dittos impersonating people like they were everywhere. It wasn't even the spontaneous fires, or the claims that he was descended from an alien race.

If you asked her, it would be how he sometimes sounded like he didn't even believe himself much anymore. That was a theory she'd have to investigate herself.


	18. The Ship Wars Begin

**Gladion is actually half-prepared for Diana, which is more than what most people get.**

**This battle is probably the funniest thing in the story so far. The editor might put it on the TV Tropes page herself.**

Diana and Eli left the ranch as two kids on a trainer's journey. After winning a double battle against small twins, they found themselves as two kids in the middle of a mystery.

It started when they ran into Hau. Hau, it seemed, had chosen to camp outside instead of going back to the Pokémon Center, and had encountered an angry boy who looked just a bit older than the three Melemele trainers, perhaps twelve or thirteen. This boy was tall, blond, and emo, dressed entirely in slashed black clothes. Despite this, and despite Diana's very clear interest in a boy who was not any of those things, she was still distracted.

Fortunately, Ilima was the only one to short-circuit her brain, which allowed her to respond when Eli questioned it.

"This guy has green eyes," she explained. "Green eyes are pretty. I got distracted by _Lillie_ before I realized how horrible her Pokémon training skills were."

The conversation was interrupted by Hau. "I guess I lost again," he said, not sounding at all like he cared.

The blond boy seemed to get angrier at Hau, just for taking a loss so calmly. "Are you even taking this seriously?"

"I'm seriously enjoying myself!"

Mystery boy didn't seem to know what to do with Hau. Diana could relate. "Need help, Hau?" she asked, pushing aside her conflicted feelings about the sudden appearance of cute guys in her life. She was sure that she'd settle for science again once she finished puberty.

"You missed it, Diana!" He gestured to the angry boy, who suddenly looked a bit less angry. "This guy beat me! He had some kind of Pokémon -"

"You're Diana?" the angry boy interrupted. He was more surprised than angry now, though. Interesting.

"That's me," she confirmed, looking back at him in confusion. "Why? How do you know my name?"

He ignored her questions. "You're not very cautious, are you? Some Pokémon have a better sense of self-preservation than you do."

Diana tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Yeah, I get that a lot." Behind her, Hau and Eli both nodded their agreement. "But you never answered my questions. Who are you, and how do you know my name?"

The boy looked at Hau, then back at Diana. "I'm Gladion. I know your name because I know how the internet works - you apparently did an entire trial with only a Rowlet."

"Someone posted that?" Diana asked, surprised.

Rotom laughed from her bag. "You said you wanted your parents to see your adventures," he reminded her. "I might have started a YouTube channel for you."

Gladion didn't notice her talking bag. Or maybe he did and didn't care. "I battle for my partner, Null, to make it strong. This includes taking jobs for Team Skull, which is where I heard your name for the first time."

"You work for Team Skull?" Eli interruted. "No wonder you need to make your Pokémon strong."

Diana immediately fist-bumped him.

Gladion's hand twitched, but he didn't respond to the insult. "Battle me, Diana! Show me how you managed to pull that trick off!"

And before she could say anything, he sent out a Zubat. Rockruff did manage to 2-hit KO that one.

* * *

Gladion's second Pokémon was nothing like the first.

Gladion called it Type: Null, and that was the only confirmation they had about its identity. Diana had never seen it before, and even Rotom had hit a blue screen when he tried to look it up. The beast walked on four legs, but two of them appeared to be bird talons while the others were paws. It had a webbed tail. A mask covered its face.

And Diana still practically threw herself at this monster, screaming "Puppy!"

"Not a puppy!" Eli complained. _His_ hand was twitching now, and Gladion briefly wondered why he could smell smoke. "That is definitely not a puppy!"

"We were in the middle of a battle!" Gladion added.

Diana's response was to ignore them both, holding out her hand for the strange new Pokémon. "Don't be afraid," she told it, and it growled but observed. "I just want to see what you are. You can understand, right? I'm just curious."

The Pokémon stopped growling, looking at the girl in suspicion. Then, surprising them all, it gently butted her outstretched hand.

Gladion's scream of rage pierced the sky. "You can't just pet the enemy!" No one was sure if he was talking to Diana or Null. Not even Gladion. But he quickly went into talking to Null, if he hadn't been already. "Bite her! Take her hand off!"

That got her attention. "Excuse you!" Diana stood up, and Null made a sound that was either another growl or actual laughter. "Do you want me to call the cops on you? Because all I wanted was to get a little bit of knowledge, and you tried to get your Pokémon to_ attack a trainer._ Don't you know how science works?"

Hau stepped back. Hala getting angry had scared him once, and now Diana was quickly following the same path. Gladion, on the other hand, didn't even flinch.

"Don't you know how battles work?" he shot right back. "You don't walk into the middle of a battlefield! Even your Rockruff knows that's a bad idea! And even if it wasn't a battle, you don't pet random dogs you see on the street!"

Diana looked over her shoulder, where Rockruff was staring at her in open disbelief. Then she looked at Eli, who still hadn't stopped shaking. Then it sunk in. "Whoops."

"_Whoops_," Gladion repeated, mockingly. "You jumped at a Pokémon belonging to a Team Skull enforcer, and you didn't think I'd call for an illegal move?" He glared at Null. "And you! You not only let her do it, you played along! I thought we agreed that it was a bad idea!"

**"I apologize,"** Null said, and Rotom and Rockruff both flinched - even the voice sounded unnatural.** "She did not seem to be a scientist. I shall follow your orders more closely, Master Gladion."**

**"Master?"** Rockruff repeated.

**"Of course,"** Null confirmed.** "Is the girl not your master? Do you not listen to her commands in battle?**"

**"I guess she is my master, if you put it that way,"** Rockruff agreed.** "But we don't call her Master Diana! We just use her name!"**

**"I suppose each Pokémon has a different way of doing things. Zubat calls Master Gladion 'banana head,' for some reason."**

As Rockruff fell over laughing, Null took the opportunity to take him out. Then came the Murkrow of retaliation, and then Gladion lost.

* * *

Gladion stared at Null's ball for a while, as if its failure was something on his part instead of Diana being a better trainer. "It looks like I'm still not ready," he told it.

"Ready for what?" Diana interrupted, and Gladion turned his full angry stare on her.

"Never mind!" he snapped. "Your friend here is strong, but not serious enough. _You're_ literally insane, and let's not even start on what's wrong with Eli!" He took a moment to calm himself down. "You're strong," he said again. "I can say that much. I'll challenge you again when one of you grows a brain cell."

He turned to leave, but froze before he could take a step. "Oh, crap," he muttered, and the natural question the others formed was answered before it was asked as two Team Skull grunts, one male and one female, came aggressively dancing up to the four kids.

"Aww!" the female grunt cooed. "Looks like we crashed a play date! Who are your friends, Gladion?"

"They're not my friends," Gladion said through his teeth.

"And here we were, thinking you'd finally proven yourself worthy of Team Skull," the male grunt snorted. "Let me guess. Couldn't even beat the one in the yellow shorts, am I right?"

"Oh, he beat me," Hau confirmed. "It's Diana who gave him trouble!"

"Then let me!" said the grunt, pushing past Gladion to face Diana himself.

"Leave them alone," Gladion interrupted. He didn't sound like he was defending them. It sounded like he was bored. "If I couldn't beat the girl, and you can't beat me, imagine what she'd do to you." He leaned in close to the grunts. "Your Pokémon will get nuked."

"You owe us after wrecking our chances at stealing Brooklet Hill's Totem," the female objected.

"I owe you nothing. You said yourself I'm just hired help, right?" He shrugged again. "If I'm not part of Team Skull, that means I can do what I want. And I will stop you from getting involved with these kids."

The grunts had a short conversation, and then decided that they did, in fact, believe Gladion had a point when it came to going up against them. The Skull grunts left, and Diana sighed in relief.

"I guess I should say thank you?" she said uncertainly, but Gladion just turned away.

"You're not the first one, Buttercup." It was clear that he meant it as an insult, but the spontaneous nickname still took her by surprise. "Unless you mean to thank me for saving you from your own stupidity."

"Buttercup?" Eli mouthed, not daring to raise his voice to even a whisper despite his desire for an explanation.

Diana was confused, too, but she pushed it aside for a bit. "So, since I defeated it, can you give me some idea of what exactly that Pokémon even was? It was cute, and strong, but -"

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"Not even why you regularly go around stopping Team Skull from challenging people while you work for them?"

"Not even that." Gladion turned his head back, briefly, before starting away. "I'll see you later. Be ready."

And he was gone.

"Well, that happened," was all Diana had to say on the matter. But now that the weird part had passed, her travel companions were coming back to their senses.

"Why did you jump at a strange Pokémon?" Eli demanded. "What possible scientific knowledge could be gained from it? What purpose did it serve?"

"I could have figured out what it was," Diana explained calmly.

Eli facepalmed. "I was worried! Don't do stuff like that anymore, ok? If Gladion hadn't had the sanity you didn't..."

"He really knew how to deal with Diana, didn't he?" Hau laughed and crossed his arms behind his head. "I think I might ship them now! He can keep her impulses under control, and she can teach him how to not be a total poop."

"But she's clearly into Ilima!" Rotom protested.

"I'm with Hau," Eli interrupted. "Ilima's got Diana's weak points covered, but he's obviously a little bit scared of her. Gladion didn't even flinch when she snapped at him, _and _he snapped back. And there's the nickname thing - all it needs is a little twist, and it can easily be used in a romantic context."

"But that was more of an insult than a nickname," Rotom pointed out. "Even a friendly one. She's wearing a flower print shirt, had a flower hat in the video he knew her from, and looks vaguely like the Powerpuff Girl. Besides, Ilima is obviously supposed to be her love interest!"

"We're all real people here!" Diana protested. "All of us! Yes, both of them are cute boys, and yes, I am a mess. But you should stop shipping real people! That's what that nutcase in Kalos did, right? The Team Flare leader? Do you want to blow up the world?" They all agreed that they didn't. "Good. So shut up and let me handle my love life - or lack of one."

Besides, she had more important things to worry about than what boy she liked more. Why Gladion knew Eli, for example - he hadn't been in her trial video. No one had even mentioned his name.


	19. Making a Splash

**The editor is replaying the game with Diana's endgame team to make sure it can be done. (Yes, she beat Ilima's trial with just a Rowlet.) This is much more believable.**

The incident with Gladion behind them, the cousins made it to their next destination. Rotom's map told them that the next trial was just past the Pokémon Center, so after taking just a moment to heal from the uncomfortable encounter (and get Diana some Tapu Cocoa) they headed off to face Lana.

"What do you think the trial's going to be?" Diana asked once she'd finally licked the last of the chocolate-butterscotch mixture off her lips. "More importantly, do you think I can beat it with just one Pokémon? Not because I have anyone to impress this time around, but because I have a reputation to keep."

"I really don't think that's such a good idea." Eli looked around at the surrounding area, and noticed the lake immediately. "Sure, this Totem Pokémon is probably Water-type, but what if there's an Electric-type trial? You can't rely on Stanford alone."

"Why not? Grass resists Electric, right? Besides, if I can teach Rockruff a Ground-type attack or two, I won't need to rely on Stanford."

"But what about other trials? What are you going to do then?"

"I'll have other Pokémon, Eli. I'm not going to only have three for the rest of my trainer career - that is way too impractical."

They stopped talking, then, because the blue-haired girl standing on a small wooden bridge had finally noticed them. "Hello," she said, sounding a little surprised. "I'm Lana. I serve as the captain of Brooklet Hill. Which of you is here for my trial?" Diana raised her hand, confused. Lana smiled. "Good. I need your help with something. You can bring the boy if you wish."

Not seeing anything wrong with that, the three kids walked to the next section of lake, and Lana pointed ahead. "Do you see that there? That splashing?"

Diana squinted ahead. "Um...kind of?"

"It wouldn't surprise me if it was a fearsome Pokémon of some kind," Lana continued.

"Like your Totem?"

"It could be," Lana agreed. "But just in case it isn't, I think I should ask you to go and investigate. I'll give you a Lapras for your Ride Pager in exchange."

Once Lapras was officially registered, Diana looked at the splashing again. "And if it is your Totem, that means I pass your trial and can go, right?"

"Sure."

"Great." Diana called out Lapras and hopped on, Eli following. Neither bothered with their riding gear - who would change clothes in public, anyway? "To the splashing! And make it quick, I have a fire starter with me and don't want him to burn down your lake."

* * *

The splashing was not the Totem Pokémon. Diana used her Dartrix just in case, but it was just a small Pokémon that Rotom identified as Wishiwashi. It was a small, insignificant-looking Pokémon, but it was what Rotom told her about it that interested her.

"It's weak and tasty," he read as the battle began, "but its bullies all learn a very painful lesson."

"How painful?" Diana asked, curious.

Rotom laughed maniacally. "Why don't we find out?"

She nodded in agreement, then turned to the fight. "Leafage," she told Stanford, not even using her official battle voice.

The attack hit, and Wishiwashi went down in one hit. Even Stanford seemed surprised.** "I guess it really is weak."**

Almost as if she understood him, Diana called him back to his ball. "We'll keep on investigating," she promised. "I'm sure there's more than one Wihiwashi in Brooklet Hill."

When Lapras landed and the cousins could talk to Lana again, she pointed out a third small lake. "There's another splash," she told them. "This one seems even bigger than the last one. Maybe this one is a strapping young swimmer!"

"If it is, you can have him." Diana called out Lapras again. "I have enough cute boys to deal with. I'm hoping for another Wishiwashi!"

Which she just so happened to get, and it was just as easy to defeat as the first one. Now certain that this was in fact her trial, she suggested leaving Eli behind here. He refused.

"I'm not going to miss a chance to actually watch you beat a whole trial with just a Dartrix," he told her. "I missed the first one, but Lana hasn't heard of me like Ilima did! Besides, what if there's a beauty we can save from drowning?" Diana stared in silence. He shrugged. "What? You have Ilima and Gladion, Lana's got her hopes up for a swimmer. Why can't I make a wish?"

"I thought your wishes were more along the lines of protection from the lizard people," Diana admitted, "not girls."

"I can wish for two things!"

Diana and Rotom made eye contact, then Diana returned to her trial. "I'm letting him have that point if you are."

"I can't see anything wrong with it," Rotom agreed. "Let's go and finish this so we can get back to sciencing!"

* * *

It started to rain before they found Lana again, but she barely acknowledged it even when Rotom retreated back to Diana's bag. Seeing Diana, and ignoring Eli, she jumped right into telling a story. "Within Brooklet Hill is a Pokémon said to be the embodiment of the sea itself," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "Kyogre itself!"

"Or just a giant Wishiwashi," Diana interrupted.

Lana smirked. "Don't be so quick to doubt, Diana. We are near the sea, after all."

"But is Kyogre actually living here?" Diana challenged.

"No," Lana admitted easily. "No, it is not. But that doesn't mean that we don't have strong Pokémon anyway." She pointed at a Captain's gate, which she and Diana had passed while they were speaking, then lowered her hand and looked toward the water. "The Totem is in the water here. It's waiting for you, Diana...and perhaps the Wishiwashi you defeated to get here will want their revenge."

Diana looked over at Eli, who was sitting on his hands. He'd released Robbie and Growlithe for petting, but it was clear that the Fire-types did not like the rain, and were currently looking for a place to hide and get affection from their trainer at the same time.

"Is it safe to leave them there?" Rotom asked from her bag.

"The rain will put anything out eventually," Diana decided. She called Lapras again. "Ready, Rotom?"

"I'm not waterproof!"

"So stay in there." She hopped on Lapras once again, turned to wave at Eli and Lana, and started on her way to the last splash center.

A series of interesting things happened when she got too close. Thunder boomed without warning. The rain increased. Lapras swam backward a bit. Diana felt something in her bag move, and wondered if Rotom was shivering. Was he cold? Her mother usually put on a coat in the rain, so it made a bit of sense. But robots had an even weaker sense of temperature than Diana did, so that sense was immediately overwritten. Did that mean he was afraid of something?

Within a second of coming to this conclusion, shadows gathered in the water. Diana watched, fascinated, as not just the two Wishiwashi she had defeated earlier but an entire school grouped together, and then a giant fish made entirely out of fish jumped at her.

"Cool," said Diana, and sent Stanford out to battle. "Hey, Rotom! Play boss music!"

She could barely hear it, but it was there. She'd have to make do with that.

Meanwhile, on the shore, Eli glared at Lana. "Is there anything you neglected to tell her about Wishiwashi? Like, you know, how enough of them can form a mega super death fish that can obliterate a Gyarados?"

"I thought she'd like the surprise."

"I think it would have been nice to know."

Lana shrugged, unrepentant. "Well, she's figured it out for herself," she pointed out. "All we can do now is sit back and watch."

Reluctantly, Eli did as told. But then...

"Hey, Lana? Do you believe in aliens?"

* * *

For the second time, Diana completed an entire trial using just Stanford. Thanks to Razor Leaf hitting multiple targets, even the Alomamola and small Wishiwashi that the big one called in were easy to defeat.

The rain stopped as soon as the battle ended. Diana looked down at her bag hopefully. "You saw me do it again, right?"

"I did not record that one," Rotom admitted. "Stuck in the bag, remember?"

Diana sighed. "I guess I can't have people fearing me, after all."

Rotom quickly corrected that. "Oh, no. You already have that. I'm terrified of you. But at least you'll have a new Z-Crystal! Does that make you feel better?"

She smiled softly. "You know it does."

"Great! Let's go find Eli!"

When Diana finally landed for the last time, she found Eli speaking to Lana. "And what are your feelings on extraterrestrials living among us?" he asked, and Lana shrugged.

"I was abducted once," she answered, looking and sounding fed up with this conversation. "And even if I hadn't been, we've seen Clefairy and Elgyem and their families, right?"

"I mean, what about aliens who can breed with humans? How would we go about testing to see if people have that kind of blood?"

"Stop dragging people into your stupid theories!" Diana whined.

Lana, grateful for the break, hopped right into things. "You beat my Wishiwashi!" She quickly pulled a Z-Crystal from her pocket. "Here's the Waterium-Z! How to use it..." She did a short little hula, and did not stop to make sure Diana understood the proper steps, before throwing an object at her. "And you also won a fishing rod and some Dive Balls! Now please, take the boy and go somewhere far, far away."

Diana sighed. "Whatever he destroyed, I'm sorry."

"I didn't destroy anything!" Eli protested. "I just talked to her!"

As much as Diana was sure that this was exactly the case, she also couldn't ignore his track record. "I was hoping I could catch some Pokémon while I was here," she admitted. "I need a Water-type, in case of Fire-type trials. Would he be a problem?"

"That is a good idea," Lana muttered. Then she threw up her hands. "Fine, whatever. I'm leaving. I suggest using that Z-Move on any Sudowoodo blocking your path - they like doing that. Catch what you will, just make sure this lunatic doesn't destroy things on your way out."

And she left.

"What did you say to her?" Diana asked as soon as Lana was safely out of earshot.

"I only told her my theory about our family," Eli protested. "I figured here would be a great place to practice my powers with minimum damage, but I couldn't turn it on! She asked me what I was doing, and so I told her, and she doesn't believe..."

"I'm not sure I believe," Diana said bluntly. "But I know our family history of supernatural abilities. Try using every strong emotion as a trigger, you'll find it."

"What about you?"

Diana shrugged. "I've never destroyed anything," she reminded him. "You're the superhero here. I'm just a girl who can make snow angels without a coat. A girl, by the way, who wants a Water-type on her team." She pointed back up the trail. "Let's get this done!"


	20. A Royal Pain

**In which our heroes meet a wrestler.**

Diana caught a Poliwag on her way out. She made a note to catch a Wishiwashi at a later date, but for the moment, she figured having a member of a family she recognized was the best option.

Besides, she wasn't sure how the giant fish-shaped school thing worked. It might need to be near water for it to kick in, and what use would that be when they went to climb a volcano?

Of course, Poliwag not being able to walk properly was a little bit of a problem, as well, but it was a problem that she had fully expected when she first saw him.

But they backtracked through Paniola Ranch, where they found the squad of Sudowoodo that Lana was talking about. All Diana had to do was show off her newest Z-Crystal, and they all ran off in a panic. But that was not what happened when they found Team Skull, a Drifloon, a girl, and a giant horse Pokémon. Diana prepared to sit back and watch the inevitable slaughter, pleased that it wasn't them dealing with these idiots this time.

"You two! Trainers!" The girl waved them forward, and Diana suppressed a groan. It looked like she and Eli were going to have to handle this again, after all. The new character continued without seeming to notice Diana's reluctance. "I need one of you to help me deal with these people."

One of the Team Skull grunts pointed at Diana. "That's the girl from Melemele!" he yelped. "The one who did the trial! With the Murkrow!"

"I did the trial with a Rowlet, actually." Diana's innocent smile made the grunts shiver. "I beat your butts with a Murkrow."

The new girl looked at Diana suspiciously. "You know Pokémon thieves?"

"They can't steal candy from a baby," Diana protested. "They can't even steal a penny from the sidewalk. They're nothing."

"I'll make you nothing!" a grunt snapped. He sent out his Drowzee. "She's back, Drowzee! Get rid of her!"

Diana considered sending out Murkrow again, just for the easy victory. But then, how would she train her non-Flying team members if she relied only on her birds? "Rockruff, let's go!"

* * *

"That's not good!" one grunt complained after he and his friend were defeated in one move each.

The other nodded, going even paler than usual. "With all these losses, we're gonna anger our bosses!"

"Get some new rhymes!" Diana snapped.

The other girl looked up at her giant horse. "Should we stomp them, Mudsdale? I'm willing to clean it up if you are."

The grunts screamed and ran off, just like the Sudowoodo from earlier. Diana and Eli both laughed.

"It's nice to see someone else willing to get their hands dirty," said Diana, and the other girl shrugged.

"I wasn't really gonna attack them or anything," she admitted. "I just like scaring people who deserve it."

"I might have," Diana admitted. "I see nothing wrong with forcibly pushing people out of my way, just as long as I draw the line before any serious injury."

"Tell that to the Sudowoodo," Eli muttered to himself.

The girl didn't know how to respond to that. "I'm Hapu," she said eventually, deciding that she should just start from the beginning. "What about you?"

He snapped back to attention, and cut off Diana before she could speak. "I'm Eli, and this is Diana."

Hapu hummed. "Eli and Diana," she repeated. "Thanks. Now I know what names to put on the wanted posters." Mudsdale voiced its agreement. "I'm guessing you're doing a Battle Royal, huh?"

"What's that?" both cousins asked together. Diana was relieved. It must not be important to Alolan culture if Eli didn't know what it was.

Hapu and Mudsdale shared a look, and then Hapu jumped onto her horse's back. "Find out for yourselves," she told them. "I guess I'll see you two later. I have work to do."

* * *

The Royal Avenue was a boring place. Beautiful, and filled with bright, hypnotizing lights, but very boring unless you were there for the one thing that put it on the map in the first place. The heroes spent two minutes looking around, and then they wanted to leave. But then they found something that changed both their minds immediately.

What they found was Gladion, entering the building that was the main attraction, and talking to himself. Seeing how the plot clearly wanted them to come here, Diana and Eli entered the Battle Royal Dome, thinking that they would just make fun of him a little and go on their way.

Gladion was gone when they entered, as they had tried to make it seem like they weren't following him. They silently, separately considered going to look for him. Then a masked wrestler appeared, startling them both. He approached the cousins specifically, jut to tell them about the Battle Royal. "Welcome to the ultimate clash to ever grace the region of Alola!"

Worst of all was that they actually recognized him. The voice, the abs, the beard...he didn't seem to even try hiding his true identity.

"Professor?" Eli, Rotom, and Diana all said together. Rotom was shocked, Eli was confused, and Diana had that tone of voice that usually accompanies an embarrassing moment. After all, she _had _just caught her boss playing dress-up in public. Anyone would be embarrassed after that.

"I'm the Masked Royal!" Professor Kukui objected, noticing their open-mouthed stares. He cleared his throat, roughing up his voice a bit. "I'm here to teach you...kids I don't know...about the battle format passed down in Alola for generations - the Pokémon Battle Royal! Four trainers! One giant battle! When one trainer's Pokémon is down, the Battle Royal ends! Whoever takes out the most Pokémon wins!"

"Why not just declare the last one standing the winner?" Diana asked. "It sounds a lot less complicated that way."

"Don't question our region's bad decisions, miss!" Wow, he was really dedicated to pretending he didn't know them. "Besides, it's a lot of fun once you try! Who wants to have a match with me?"

"I'll battle, Masked Royal!" another familiar voice called. Hau ran down the stairs to catch up with the masked professor, and grinned at the cousins. "Are you guys numbers 3 and 4?"

Eli took a step back. "I only have Fire-type Pokémon on me," he admitted. "I'm falling way behind. I can't be part of this match."

"Borrow one of mine!" Diana suggested. "I'm sure they'll all listen to you if I give an official order!"

"Better idea!" Hau pointed at Gladion, who was back in view, clearly watching them and trying to make it look like he wasn't watching them. "We can ask him!"

Diana struggled not to laugh. "Only if you ask him, Hau."

Hearing the dare in her tone, Hau straightened up and approached the angry preteen, who appeared to be silently panicking about being discovered. Not paying attention, Hau started right into the request. "Hey, Gladion. If I told you I grew a brain cell since last time, would you join me and Diana and the Masked Royal for a Battle Royal?"

"What?" Gladion looked over Hau's shoulder to make eye contact with Diana, then Hau again when he noticed that she, as well as her boss and travel partners, were getting closer. "What about her? Did she get one?"

"Can't prove I didn't!" Diana grinned.

Gladion's hand twitched. "You're really not getting this, are you?"

"I get that you want nothing to do with me. But you don't seem to get that you don't get a chance to escape." She straightened up in an attempt to look intimidating. Gladion was still taller than she was, and was not impressed. Diana, surprising the others, backed down.

But Gladion didn't leave, even after winning the intimidation contest. "I might as well stay," he decided. "I'd love to see both of you get what's coming to you."

* * *

To show exactly how seriously she took this, Diana sent out Poliwag. Despite the professor choosing his own Rockruff, and the blatant disadvantage, Gladion's Null and Hau's Brionne teamed up on Poliwag, and he was the match's casualty. It only took two hits.

"You really got flattened out there," Eli commented as the competitors returned.

"Like a flower under a boot," Gladion added, not even smiling.

Diana sighed. "That was a reference to the Buttercup thing, isn't it?"

"Yes it was. Deal with it."

"So am I going to get an explanation for that, or what?" She gestured to the public computer, where a bunch of kids were watching the video of her failing at the Battle Royal and laughing. "I'm on the internet. You know my name, Gladion."

"But using it implies a level of respect that I am no longer capable of generating for you. This is the only nickname I found for you that doesn't use profanity." He paused, and Diana was once again hit by just how green his eyes were. "I can use another one, if you insist."

She considered for a moment. Then she gave up. "I guess I'm Buttercup now."

While this was going on, Hau and Eli were talking to a new guy. Dark skin, no shirt...but he wore the same symbol around his neck that Diana remembered seeing in Ilima's hair, and Lana's belt. It hadn't seemed important at first, but now she realized that it must mean that this boy was a Trial Captain.

Eli confirmed it when she asked. "This is Kiawe, the Fire-type Captain from the top of Wela Volcano. He's...apparently heard of us."

Diana gave him a pointed look. "Heard of _you_, you mean."

"No," Kiawe said, so serious that Diana shut up. "Lana told me you beat two trials with just one Pokémon."

"Don't worry! I can't use my Dartrix in a Fire-type trial!" She tried not to smile as she said it. No use letting him know she was planning to defeat his Totem and its allies using only a Rockruff…

"You might not be able to use just one Pokémon at all." Kiawe couldn't read minds, but he wasn't surprised when Diana flinched. "If it works out that way, fine. All I'm asking is that you take my trial like the other kids who got their amulets. No tricks, no traps, no trying to prove yourself. Just you, your Pokémon, and the Totem."

A normal trial? "Fine," Diana said, a bit disappointed. "I'll win even faster, but fine."

"You're pretty confident." Kiawe smiled. "I like that. Let's see if you can hold that fire in my trial!"


	21. Trial by Fire

**I didn't want to use this title, but I had to.**

The cousins and Rotom went back to the previous route to prepare for Kiawe's trial. It took the rest of the day, and Poliwag still hadn't evolved. This meant that Diana was sitting and sulking when they returned to the Pokémon Center for sleep.

At least the others tried to cheer her up. "Maybe he ate an Everstone," Eli suggested. "Ilima gave you one, right?"

"It's still in my bag," Diana said into her pillow. "It's in with my ring collection."

Rotom patted her on the back. "So it wasn't time for Poliwag to evolve. You have Rockruff! He can type advantage his way through the trial!"

"But I promised Kiawe that I'd try not to steamroll the trial this time! Do you know how hard it is to be completely awesome and have to restrain yourself?"

Eli rolled his eyes. "Someone's conceited today."

"If you've done what I have, you'd want to gloat, too." She rolled onto her back and stretched her arms out, taking up the whole bed in her starfish position. "And I can't do it this time!"

Murkrow, from his perch on a chair, watched his trainer have her drama queen moment. Then he flew over to her and dropped something on her stomach before landing near her head.

She sat up to investigate. The ring she gave him when they first met fell onto her leg. She looked over at Murkrow, who stared back, determination in his eyes. She understood, without Rotom needing to translate, that he was promising his loyalty no matter what they faced. She should say something that told him the same thing.

"I thought you kept this in your ball," was what came out of her mouth.

Murkrow's determined look turned to disappointment.** "I'm trying to have a moment with you. Don't ruin it."**

* * *

For having that moment with her, Murkrow got the privilege of leading her team when they went up the volcano. It surprised no one when Eli picked up a Pokémon known as Salandit...though it was a lot more surprising to learn that he hadn't actually captured it.

"I'm not sure if I want to be a Fire-type specialist," he said, and Diana wasn't sure if he was talking to her and Rotom or to the Salandit. "Two Fire-types is ok, a lot of trainers have more than one of a type without specializing, but three? That's half a team."

He could have been talking to a wall for all the attention Salandit was paying. It didn't seem to expect him to turn around and start throwing Pokeballs at it, but it wasn't showing any signs of leaving, either.

"Hey, Rotom, ask it what it wants."

Rotom immediately did. Salandit considered, then answered carefully.

"She says that she's never seen humans like you two before," he told them, "and that she wants to get a front row seat to the chaos." Salandit added something else, and Rotom laughed. "I'm a Rotom! This body was programmed for me to be able to speak human, so I do the translation for them!"

**"Interesting."** Salandit swished her tail, streaking the dirt.** "What do the humans do for you?"**

"They let me see the world. They're my friends."

**"They don't use you for battle? What do you even do?"**

"Translate Pokémon speech, film their adventures, read off Pokedex entries, and most importantly, keep them alive."

**"So shouldn't you stop them from jumping into a volcano?"**

"They're not going to -" Rotom suddenly remembered who he was talking about, and turned around in horror. "Oh my gosh!"

Diana was kneeling next to a lava pool, her hand hovering above the heat.

"Don't do it," Eli told her, even though he seemed conflicted about that himself.

"But we're the only ones who can!" she protested. "My 'alien' ability is temperature resistance. Your weird fire thing probably protects you from the effects of heat, too. We can touch lava! Do you think it will be hard? Wet? Both?"

"It'll feel like our hands melting off our bodies," Eli told her, grabbing her hand before she could do anything too stupid. "Just because we're immune to uncomfortable heat doesn't mean that we're immune to melting."

Diana remembered when she broke her arm years ago, and reluctantly admitted his point. "So what do you suggest?"

"I suggest you get to the top and face Kiawe's trial," said Rotom, speaking like he had been paying enough attention to know her plans before Salandit had told him. "This science is too dangerous for a girl your age."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Ok,_ Dad._ I'll stay on track."

Rotom turned back to Salandit, pleased. "As you can see, it is a 24/7 job."

* * *

Kiawe was waiting on a platform surrounded by torches. Eli reached out to touch it, testing Diana's theory - he hadn't had enough experience with cold to see if he was affected by it, but he could certainly attempt to see if he could touch fire.

He seemed oblivious to the fact that he now had a long train of wild Pokémon following him. Two Fletchling, four Cubone, a Kangaskhan, five Salandit (counting the original) and no fewer than ten little Magby. There was even a Magmar poking its head around the corner. Counting his Growlithe and Torracat, both of them outside of their balls to do as much damage control as possible, he had a small army. Diana was slightly jealous.

Kiawe clearly had a speech prepared, but it flew out of his head when he saw this. "I...what? How? He couldn't have captured all of them!"

Diana nodded wisely. "My cousin and I are descended from aliens," she said, not believing but figuring it into her plans. "That's part of his power set. Just hand me the Z-Crystal, and I won't have to use mine."

Kiawe took a deep breath, counted to five, and let it out. He was calm again. "I've prepared for people like you," he said, and he pulled a whistle from his pocket. "I've prepared for this. When I blow this whistle, six trained Marowak are going to drag the boy down the volcano and leave him there. He'll have to climb all the way up again."

Diana shrugged, never having expected just demanding the item to work in the first place.

Kiawe blew the whistle. Just as he'd told her, six Marowak (not looking much like the Marowak that Diana knew, but Rotom confirmed them to be Ghost/Fire types native to Alola) arrived and dragged Eli away. The cluster of wild Pokémon followed.

**"We should probably stay with him," **Growlithe decided after a moment.

**"Probably," **Robbie agreed, and they followed the troop down the volcano.

With that out of the way, Kiawe continued, pretending it never happened. "As I was about to say before all this nonsense began, welcome to Wela Volcano. My trial is different than the trials you've faced so far. You can't go through it with just a Dartrix."

"I figured."

"This trial will test your powers of observation! First one dance, then another. You will have to find the difference between those two." Was that a smirk? "I've trained three more to dance. Come, Marowak! Let the trial of Kiawe begin!"

* * *

Murkrow defeated the Marowak without taking any damage himself. Then came the trainer battle with the random hiker, who was clearly in on it with the Captain and was defeated with three of Murkrow's Night Shade attacks. But when the Totem Pokémon arrived, just as suddenly as the hiker, Diana could barely restrain herself from making a sarcastic comment.

But she did not make the sarcastic comment. She wanted this over with.

It was obvious that the Totem was Salandit's evolved form. Diana heard Rotom say something about it being a female-exclusive evolution and keeping a reverse harem of male Salandit around, but her attention was much more focused on the battle.

The Salazzle looked at Murkrow, half-amused, as if he was part of said reverse harem. Then she spit out a Flame Burst, took Murkrow's Night Shade, and called a Salandit for help. Murkrow, still weak from battling the hiker, fainted quickly. But Diana still had Rockruff.

Rockruff used Rock Tomb to take out Salazzle in two hits, then Salandit in one. Diana had completed the trial, and had kept her promise to Kiawe while she did.

The sound of applause brought her out of her thoughts. Eli had returned, and the whole squad of Pokémon had come with him. All of them were cheering for Diana.

The Salazzle gave something to Kiawe before she wandered off, and he passed it to Diana. "She had the Firium-Z," he explained. "I'm the one who shows you how to use it."

He demonstrated the Fire-type dance. Diana, despite always feeling a little silly when she did this, followed his example.

"And for when you find a Pokémon you want to make your companion," Kiawe added, "here's a gift from me." He handed her 10 Quick Balls. "I'm assuming you know how these work?"

"I have been studying," she confirmed, hoping she didn't sound too insulting.

Kiawe didn't say anything, but he did look down at her in disappointment. "You also get access to a Charizard for your Ride Pager. Keep your commentary to yourself, and I'll give you one that actually knows how to carry a human."

As Diana handled that, Eli turned to the Pokémon that had followed him. "I'm not going to have a full team of Fire-types," he told them. "That's something I decided a long time ago. It's just too expected, you know? But I can take one more Pokémon here. Type doesn't matter. Which of you is the hardest for trainers to find?"

Most of the Pokémon groaned and shuffled off, leaving behind only the Kangaskhan and the female Salandit that had started the little parade. They stared each other down briefly.

**"You saw him first,"** Kangaskhan decided, and left to show her baby how lava bubbled.

Eli borrowed a Quick Ball from his cousin, and just like that, his team was half Fire-type and half empty.


	22. Little Ball of Science

**In which Diana makes a new science friend, and loses the spotlight for a while.**

**On a related note, I would say we're sorry for the Colress developments, but we're really not.**

Diana used her Firium-Z to get past Kiawe's barricade, and Eli following behind her gave him access to the new location, too. Salandit refused to ride in her ball, insisting that she get to know her new trainer, and Eli allowed it.

So it was two humans, a lizard, and a haunted Pokedex walking through a dark, narrow tunnel, discussing the possibilities of their future.

"So by my guessing," Diana was saying, "there are 18 Z-Crystals, right? One for every type of attack."

"More than that," Rotom interrupted. "Some Pokémon have their own exclusive Z-Moves."

"So 18 that matter," Diana finished. "But I probably should look for the others, anyway...where was I going with this?" She stopped to consider, then remembered. "So once I collect them all, I'll jump right into continuing my science. Probably with Lillie and Kukui, but honestly, I'm not that angry about being replaced anymore. She's with him for Cosmog alone. Then when school starts, I'll go through the summers to try to get qualified sooner, so I can be taken seriously in the scientific community. What about you guys?"

Eli shrugged. "I've never been that sure of where my life was going. My only life plan was to survive as long as possible, no matter who or what came to get me, or when."

"But you're a trainer now!" Diana gestured to the end of the tunnel ahead of them. "Don't you have any other goal? What about a Pokémon-related one?"

"Not really."

"So what are you going to do with your life?"

There was a sudden scream from behind them. They turned and saw Kiawe's barricade going up in flames, and the guard calling out a Seaking to put it out.

"I'm gonna try not to do that," Eli said quietly.

"Good plan," Diana agreed.

"We should probably run," Rotom added.

So they did. They ran to the other side of the tunnel, to the outside, and did not stop until Diana collided with someone. The person, caught off guard as anyone would be, stumbled forward, while Diana jumped back and Rotom hid in her bag just as the man turned around.

She almost apologized. Then she looked up, and the words died in her throat.

The man was tall with scary shiny glasses, but that was not what Diana was focused on. His coat looked too heavy for the Alolan weather, but she'd never been too concerned with such things. Her attention, and Eli's, was focused on the swirl of blue that looped around the man's otherwise blond head.

Then the man adjusted his glasses, and immediately appeared much friendlier.

"I'm going to assume that you did not deliberately attempt to run me over in a stampede."

Diana shook her head. "No. We didn't. I'm going to assume your coat is making noises for a reason?"

"I installed a cooling mechanism so I could do my research in the Alolan heat." Diana's eyes lit up at the word 'research.' The man noticed, and his own mood improved at the sight. "Interested in science, are you? Then allow me to introduce myself. I am a scientist. My name is Colress."

* * *

Diana had immediately launched into questions that Professor Kukui hadn't got around to answering, only to fall silent when Colress told her that he wasn't technically allowed to call himself a professor. When she asked why, he was entirely casual as he told them that his research was on the power of Pokémon, and how he had learned "the hard way" that the bond between Pokémon and trainers was the answer to his question all along.

"I could have told you that," Eli interrupted, Salandit echoing his claim at his feet. "And I'm not even a scientist."

"I am," Diana chirped, and Colress immediately gave her a disapproving glance. "Well, I'm an urban legend investigator," she finished, hanging her head in shame.

But Colress didn't judge. "A reasonable start for a girl your age," he decided, "though I wouldn't call yourself a scientist yet. Wait until you finish school or destroy your backyard, whichever comes first."

Something told the kids that blowing up a treehouse was how Colress got his start. Perhaps it was the hair, maybe the beeping coat, but he just screamed 'mad scientist' to them.

"So what did you mean by the hard way?" Diana asked. "Didn't Mega Evolution and Z-Moves clear that up for you?"

"It's a long and complicated story," Colress said, "but let's just say that I have a long history of horrible decisions." When Diana stepped closer, as if she wanted to get examples of said horrible decisions, he started the actual story. "The short version is, I met a girl in the sewers of Castelia City, and she became my moral guide."

Eli noticed how he seemed to speak of this person as if she had a great significance in his present life. "So you fell in love with someone you met in a sewer?"

"Of course not." Colress cleared it up quickly, but was not surprised that he had made that leap. "I grew attached, yes, but I saw her as a friend, or perhaps a pet. She was my favorite test subject. She and her filmmaker friend had good hearts and strong willpower. I wanted to see how Team Plasma could be stopped. And they did it. They defeated Ghetsis, won my loyalty, and I never looked back. Now I work with them and the Juniper labs - doing the things I love with the people I like."

"So did sewer girl come to Alola with you?"

"I didn't ask. I did invite Aurea...that is, Professor Juniper to come along, but an alien abduction couldn't keep her from her work at this time of year." He spoke about the professor as if he admired that workaholic quality. "So I came alone, hoping to encounter promising trainers like the two of you."

He was bribing them with stories, Diana could tell. His smile was genuine, but his eyes were more focused on her Z-ring. She rolled her eyes.

"What is it you're researching? Specifically, I mean, and here in Alola."

"The secret to a Pokémon's full potential," Colress answered immediately. "Mega Evolution, Z-Moves...not that I'd heard of such a thing before I got here...and how a bond shared with a trainer works to make it happen."

"We don't do Mega Evolution here," Eli told him bluntly. "The locals say it's 'unnatural.' Maybe even abusive."

"But Rosa's Altaria and Nate's Lucario say otherwise."

"How can you tell? How do you know they don't turn harmless Pokémon into bloodthirsty monsters who are only restrained from terrorizing entire cities by the sound of the trainer's voice?"

"That's enough conspiracy theories out of you," Diana interrupted. "YOU don't know that Mega Evolution turns Pokémon into bloodthirsty monsters, do you? For a fact? Have any supposedly recorded stories, should they be real, been DUPLICATED, or were they a single case involving a broken Mega Stone, or a side effect of putting a Key Stone in a Z-Ring?"

"Mega Glalie -"

"Looks like it broke its jaw, fine. What about anything else?"

Eli opened his mouth. Then he closed it. Then he opened it again, closed it again, and stared at the ground in shame. At this, Colress actually laughed.

"Excellent! You do have the makings of a scientist, Diana."

"Really?" Anger gone, she was suddenly a normal kid again. "You think so?"

"Of course."

"So can you teach me?"

Colress stopped laughing. "I don't think that would be wise."

"But you're a real scientist! I got replaced when I went to be somebody else's lab assistant, so maybe you can give me your email or something and I can send you a message for internship?"

Colress didn't seem convinced, but at seeing Diana's determination and love of science, he knew he was looking at a younger, saner, more feminine version of himself. And because he knew himself, he couldn't refuse, even though he also knew himself well enough to know that someone like him should not be encouraged. "I suppose, if you promise to not tell my girlfriend that I am corrupting the minds of children again, I can prepare my temporary lab for the proper arrangements."

But before Diana could enthusiastically agree, or Eli and Rotom could stop her, Colress got a call. Without even looking to see who it was, he flinched.

"She knows," he said under his breath. Then, continuing to let the call go unanswered, spoke to Diana again. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to cancel those plans, Diana."

"You didn't even look!"

"I don't have to. She knows that I know who it is." He handed her a TM. "Take that with you. Use it if you wish, and show it to me when you graduate high school. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a call to take."

They heard him answer the phone call as he left. Diana didn't exactly eavesdrop, but she heard him mention her - calling her a "little ball of science" and jokingly stating "she could be ours."

Honestly, if she didn't have a decent relationship with her parents, she might just have asked him to adopt her anyway.

* * *

Gladion really didn't know why he and Null were still so weak.

Those thoughts had started when he'd first let it out after the Battle Royal. They were in their...home, for lack of a better word, and he felt safe letting it get some more time in for relaxing. He'd turned on a superhero movie and started to think.

He wasn't strong enough to do what needed to be done. Diana might be, and she had friends to back her up. Gladion would even join her team if necessary. But Diana had no self-control, Gladion was not a fan of teamwork or cooperation, Hau couldn't take even helping her out seriously enough, and he'd heard enough stories about Eli to know that letting him near important documents and/or machinery was a terrible idea.

"We're doomed," he said out loud.

Null didn't seem to share its trainer's pessimism, and looked away from the TV to make that clear to him. **"Were you thinking of 'Buttercup' again?"**

As if he understood, Gladion nudged Null with his foot. "You look smug. Stop that."

**"She's a strong trainer, Poliwag aside. You don't have to worry about her."**

"The walking flamethrower and a scientific idiot are the closest thing we have to allies. That scares me."

**"You have Hau, too."**

"I don't count the kid who can't take a battle seriously."

**"So what about Lillie?"**

"I can't save Lillie and Cosmog without more training! We need to be strong!"

**"What we need is a strategy, not strength. Though both wouldn't hurt."**

The funniest part was, Gladion had no idea he was having a full conversation with his Pokémon, and neither of them was aware of how deep their bond was…or how important three kids from Melemele Island would be, both to their plans and to Gladion and Null themselves.

* * *

"Really, Diana?"

Diana shrugged, her brand-new Stufful in her arms. She had captured it only moments earlier, and her Rockruff's evolution had happened just after. "You didn't try to stop me," she pointed out, to Eli's disappointment. "If you wanted to catch up in Pokémon-catching, you could have said something. But you know I need to catch Pokémon if I'm going to have a control group for my investigations. Getting a female on my team is just a bonus, and gives your Salandit someone to play with."

"I'm just impressed a freshly-caught Stufful is letting you hug it," Rotom confessed. "The Pokedex entry says that it hates being touched and only tolerates close friends touching it."

Stufful made a confused sound, and Diana laughed. "I think she'd disagree with you there."

"But what about having a werewolf as a pet?" Eli gestured behind her, where the Midnight Form Lycanroc was chomping on an Oran Berry, not paying attention to the rest of them. "Don't you think that's a little creepy?"

"I used to play in graveyards back in Kanto," Diana reminded him. "I don't even _register _creepy. Besides, he's still my Rockruff. He just looks different now."

Lycanroc looked up from his berry, smirked, and shoved the rest of it in his mouth whole. Apparently, he was already used to having hands.

Rotom decided to change the subject. "There's a Pokémon Center ahead," he announced, pointing it out on his map. "We can take a break there, heal your Pokémon, and then move on to the Lush Jungle and Mallow's trial! We have science to do!"


	23. Foo-foo Cuddlypoops and the Forest Totem

**This is not a children's book. Just a PG-rated fanfic.**

Diana preferred to train for the rest of the day, still trying to get Poliwag to evolve. She even challenged her cousin to battle, hoping that taking out half a team would help. At the end of it all, she was rewarded with a Poliwhirl, and hopefully, a Pokémon with better defenses than he'd had before.

Not that a Poliwhirl would be useful in a Grass-type trial, but it was nice to have him for later.

While our impatient heroes rushed right to the trial area almost as soon as they were awake, Mallow had to stop them from jumping right into the trial itself.

"Diana," she said, getting the other girl's attention, "you can only bring one of your friends with you. And by one of your friends, I mean Rotom."

"I figured that would be the case," Diana admitted. "Would the trial be harder if I had him tag along? He's actually gotten a lot better with the spontaneous fires!"

"A little better, anyway," Rotom agreed.

"I'm still not allowing him in the area," Mallow insisted. "And, yes, it might actually be a little harder if you had him, anyway. Your job is to take the Stoutland on your Ride Pager, and use it to sniff out the necessary ingredients for a meal. You and Eli can join us when we eat, IF you can get the Grassium-Z." She smiled innocently. Diana didn't trust it. "You need a Mago Berry, a Tiny Mushroom, Revival Herb, and Miracle Seed!"

"It sounds more like you're preparing for a battle than cooking," Diana pointed out.

"It does, but that's because I'm cooking for the Pokémon, too!"

"Do they even eat Miracle Seeds?"

Her question remained unanswered as Mallow pushed her into the jungle, and the trial began. Eli waited until his traveling buddies had disappeared into the trees, and looked over at Mallow hopefully.

"So," he said, trying to be casual about it, "it looks like it's just you and me, huh? What do you think about tinfoil hats?"

"I think they're stupid," Mallow said immediately.

Eli immediately backed down. "We're done here."

* * *

Diana, Rotom, and Stoutland were sent all over Lush Jungle, looking for those ingredients and occasionally screaming in frustration. Eli and Mallow, however, were stuck waiting.

Eli got bored. He released his Pokémon, and the four of them all slept in a pile, none of them bothered by the heat of three Fire-types so close together.

When they woke up, there was a fifth friend with them.

It was a large caterpillar-like Pokémon, with a black face and white and red fluff. It was snuggled up in the small corner created by Eli's arm and Growlithe's leg. When the human stirred, the bug did, too.

**"Hi," **it said, knowing very well Eli couldn't understand. **"You're warm."**

**"He's ours," **Salandit warned. **"_I'm_ the new one. He's had me for a day. Go away and come back later."**

**"The Torracat said I could stay."**

**"I never said anything," **said Robbie. **"I didn't know you were even here."**

Eli took a moment to notice the extra Pokémon, and when he did, he sighed. "I'm never going to catch one like a normal person, am I?"

**"Probably not." **Growlithe couldn't stop the tail-wagging, though. **"What do you say, Eli? Can the fuzzy thing stay?"**

Eli rolled onto his hands and knees, looking the new Pokémon over. "If I'm going to catch you," he said, "we're going to have to do this the normal way. You're going to have to battle." The bug made a sound of agreement. "Ok, then! Growlithe!"

Growlithe took his place on the makeshift battlefield, just as Stoutland's cry of triumph echoed off the trees.

* * *

"Diana! We're so close! Why are you on the ground?"

Diana looked up at Rotom with all the hatred at the world she could muster. "Because I'm sick of crawling around the jungle, searching for the tiniest edible items ever to be made by nature, just for the chance to get my butt handed to me by an overpowered monstrosity." She closed her eyes, finally seeming to be at peace. "You go on without me. I'm going to see if kids who die in the forest really become Phantump."

"By _being _a kid who dies in the forest?"

Diana shrugged, which only angered Rotom more. "We all have to die somewhere," she pointed out.

"But it doesn't have to be now! This is a terrible idea! What about your parents? Your aunt and uncle? Who's going to keep Eli from getting arrested for his accidental arson situations?" When Diana looked conflicted, but still didn't move, he moved on to more personal things. "What about Kukui and Colress? Your career? Ilima?" He got closer to her ear. "Think about all the _sparkly things _you won't be able to play with if you're dead."

That did it. "You're right. I can't die here." Diana stood up and brushed herself off. "I'd get hungry."

**"This is the weirdest trial I've ever been a part of," **said Stoutland.

Rotom groaned. "You get used to it."

Diana had already picked up her foraging bag and was digging around for the last ingredient without Stoutland's help. After only two minutes of searching, her complaints were replaced by a triumphant laugh. "I found it! I found it all! Let's go and eat!"

Of course, walking out of the jungle, they found not only Eli and Mallow, but Kiawe, Lana, all of Eli's Pokémon, and…

"Diana, Rotom." Eli gestured to the newest Pokémon, a clear Bug-type. "This is my newest catch. I call him Foo-foo Cuddlypoops. Foo-foo Cuddlypoops, meet the nerds."

"That's a LARVESTA!" Rotom sounded close to short-circuiting. "How did you even find it? It's not native to Alola!"

"Diana caught Murkrow where they don't appear!"

"At least Murkrow sightings are common on other islands!"

Diana cut between them. "Rotom, as strange as it is that Eli caught a Larvesta in Alola, this is a kid who routinely sets fires by accident. Eli, not even going into the fact that Larvesta is yet another Fire-type, we are not calling your Larvesta 'Foo-foo Cuddlypoops.' That's an even dumber name than Nebby."

Eli forced a stern look as he stared his new Pokémon in the eye. "Why didn't you tell me that you were combustible?" he asked it, sounding almost like a parent disappointed in a toddler. Larvesta squeaked and wiggled, looking down in shame.

Lana had an entirely different train of thought. "What's a Nebby?" she asked, but Mallow hushed her, pounding the ingredients together and pretending not to notice the cousins at all.

"Do you want them here any longer than they have to be?" Mallow asked quietly, hoping that the non-captains couldn't hear. "The boy caught a LARVESTA in ALOLA."

"And led an entire army of Pokémon up the volcano," Kiawe added. "And the girl tried to stick her hand in lava."

"She wasn't afraid of the giant school of Wishiwashi popping out of the water at her," Lana finished. "And _he_ said they were descended from aliens."

"More likely, they're first-generation aliens." Kiawe's statement was met with agreeing nods from the other captains, but the conversations weren't finished, because something stepped on a twig, and the crack distracted them all.

"What was that?" Eli asked uncertainly. He could feel a familiar heat in his chest, crawling up to his face – such a thing was usually accompanied by a spark at least. This time, his four Pokémon friends all circled around him, smothering any flames with their bodies and calming him just by being there.

The heat faded in the time it usually took to set something on fire. Maybe being a Fire-type specialist wouldn't be a bad thing.

Diana, meanwhile, was just as unafraid as she had been when the Wishiwashi school had jumped from the water, and stared defiantly into the Totem's eyes. The Totem stared back.

"Rotom, give me the details," Diana commanded, not looking away.

Rotom switched on immediately. "Lurantis. A pure Grass-type. A powerful Pokémon that can cut through metal with its sickle-shaped petals."

"Cutting through metal, you say?" Diana looked at Lurantis in a different way. She saw herself commanding such a creature, studying it, experimenting with it…

_Maybe another time, _she told herself. "Rotom, play boss music." As Rotom did so, Diana reached for a ball. Lurantis assumed a battle stance. Diana's twisted smile showed that she was just as ready. "Stufful, let's go!"

* * *

Stufful got one Baby-Doll Eyes attack in, and was promptly annihilated by a Solar Blade. Diana wasn't afraid – Stanford could deal with anything Lurantis could pull.

The Trumbeak it called in as an ally would be a little harder, but at least he had Synthesis to help. Diana made a mental note to never let him forget _that _move. Even so, he wasn't any better off than Stufful in the end, and Lurantis knew Synthesis, too.

Murkrow could use Wing Attack and Night Shade, but what ultimately won the battle was the simple solution of giving her usual one-hope Pokémon a Revive and a few Hyper Potions, and then letting Lycanroc take care of the Trumbeak when Stanford lost again.

"You didn't even get to meet Castform," Mallow said, slightly disappointed.

"Let me guess. It had Sunny Day to charge Solar Blade in a single turn."

"Wow, you're good!"

"I've learned to take down the Totem first." Diana shrugged. "A lot less of a mess to clean up."

"Well, I can't say you didn't fight! So, here!" Mallow handed Diana the Grassium-Z, and demonstrated the dance for Rotom's camera.

"That's a new video up for the ten followers for Diana's adventure," Rotom announced.

"We have followers?" Diana asked.

"Only ten?" Eli complained.

"I think it's your powers that cut down on how popular it gets," Rotom said with a shrug. "It makes you less relatable."

"Well I can't CONTROL it!"

Mallow shivered from something other than cold. "Let's get out of here," she told her friends. "Protect the jungle until they're gone."

Lana and Kiawe instantly agreed, and the three captains ran off into the trees. Their disappearance was accompanied by the reappearance of Professor Kukui, and Diana's smile became forced.

"Diana! I'm guessing you cleared Mallow's trial, yeah?" Diana nodded, not wanting to talk to the professor just yet. Kukui continued on, ignorant of that fact. "Then I'll give you this TM as a present. Smart Strike, a move that will never miss!"

"Why do people keep giving me these?"

"So your Pokémon can learn new moves. That's _my _research specialty, after all." He had to smile at Diana's confusion. "Besides, having your Pokémon know moves most people can't teach theirs can confuse your opponents. And scientists tend to get their hands on a lot more than basic trainers." Diana grunted in response. Kukui ignored that, too. "Speaking of scientists, why don't we head over to the Dimensional Research Lab? We can have a party for you to celebrate passing all of Akala's trials before you face Olivia!"

"Even me?" Eli asked hopefully.

"Of course! The place has the best sprinkler system on the island!"

"Will the Masked Royal be joining us?" Diana asked pointedly.

For a moment, a flash of annoyance crossed Kukui's face. Then he put his smile back in place. "You met the Masked Royal?"

"I have. I fought him in a Battle Royal, too."

"Did you win?"

"What do you think?"

"I'll bet you were great."

"Yeah, I don't think so. Is he coming to the lab party, or not?

Kukui shook his head, but the smile didn't fade this time. "I don't think the Royal knows you well enough to attend your parties, Diana."

"If you say so," said Diana, but internally, she was wondering how stupid Kukui thought she was.

She really should track down Colress and demand to be _his_ lab assistant. No matter what anyone said.


	24. Magic Space Hole

**Diana kind of wants to be like Professor Burnet, but she'd refuse to marry a wrestler with a stupidly obvious secret identity.**

After checking with Rotom to find where this new location was, they took Diana's rental Charizard. They saw Hau walking on the ground below, and both of them screamed his name to get his attention.

"Beat Mallow's trial yet?" Diana shouted down, as Charizard did a few slow circles just to keep moving.

"Just got my crystal!" Hau shouted back. He pulled it out to prove his point. "That Lurantis was hard to beat, wasn't it?"

"Harder than it needed to be," Diana admitted.

"I caught a Larvesta!" Eli added happily.

Hau laughed. "Finally embraced your destiny, huh?"

"Kind of forced to, pal."

"So where are you headed now?"

"Some research lab the professor suggested. Not really my kind of thing, but…" He gestured to Diana. "I figured that if I let her have this, she'll have to come with me somewhere I want to go."

"The faked moon landing site?" Hau asked.

Eli shrugged. "Maybe."

"Or maybe I'll help him hide his crazy to get a girlfriend," Diana suggested.

"Well, good luck on both!" Hau waved goodbye and started off. Charizard, though dizzy, followed without a problem.

* * *

They reached the Dimensional Research Lab, as the scientist out front told them. Lillie was already waiting there, Cosmog out of her bag. They wondered why she was allowing it out where people could see it, but it quickly became clear.

"Nebby, use...use Splash!"

Cosmog promptly fell over laughing. Lillie's expression changed to vague anger.

"I was trying to be like my friends," she said, and the small Pokémon struggled to stop. "Hau can smile at anything, Diana can survive no matter what stupidity she's thrown herself into...Eli even has pyrokinesis! Uncontrollable, yes, but it still makes him special. My only natural talent is dealing with my mother and brother, and that was only before Mother lost her mind. I thought being a trainer would make it easier."

Eli looked down at his hand. He'd heard his aunt say so, of course, but hearing it from someone outside the family seemed to confirm something for him. He closed his eyes and willed a small, controllable fireball to form.

Nothing happened. Just like every other time. Maybe his aunt's other theory was right. Maybe he was just haunted by a fire-loving ghost, though why it chose him was a mystery. Maybe his great-uncle had something to do with it. It was just his luck to avoid such a thing.

Diana cleared her throat, and Lillie froze. Cosmog jumped up in happiness and floated over to greet the new arrivals. "One, that statement about me is a lot better than the temperature immunity I thought I had all my life. Survival as a superpower...maybe I could have touched the lava after all."

"You still would have lost an arm," Eli interrupted.

Diana ignored him. "Two, why are you training Cosmog to battle when you don't want anyone to know it exists?"

Lillie looked embarrassed. "Well, Nebby seems to always end up hurt. I never thought I'd want to be a Trainer, but seeing you and Eli and Hau being so happy..."

Cosmog made the 'Pew' noise again. Lillie smiled. "I think it makes Nebby happy, too."

For the first time, Diana noticed Cosmog's reaction to the name. It wasn't the same as Diana's utter loathing, but its smile seemed just a bit forced after that. Diana made eye contact with the creature and nodded, telling it she understood without needing to speak. Cosmog giggled and lookde away.

Lillie didn't notice. "Come on, everyone - into the lab! The professor is waiting!"

* * *

The inside of the lab was wet, as if something had triggered the sprinklers. The scientists were all panicking, but a woman's voice rose above the chaos.

"It was just a faulty wire!" she promised. "A Pikachu gnawed through it! You act like you've never seen a spontaneous combustion before..."

"So that's how my powers work," Eli commented quietly. "I subconsciously manipulate the probability of something igniting."

Diana laughed. "A lot of big words, Eli."

"I'm not stupid."

"I know. In my heart. My head needs a bit more time to wrap around that fact."

Eli playfully shoved her, knowing a joke when he heard one.

Professor Kukui finished wiping off his glasses (or were they sunglasses? Who wears sunglasses indoors?) to face the kids. "There's my other assistant!" he announced, and the whole lab turned to look at Diana. "Sorry we couldn't have cake, Diana. It got too close to the fire, yeah."

"It happens." She shrugged. "Especially when Eli's around."

Eli shoved her again, a little bit harder this time.

The woman who had calmed down the panicked scientists approached the group, smiling despite the situation. "I'm so sorry about that. Things don't usually explode around here."

"It's fine, honey," Kukui told her. Diana blinked at the last word, startled. Kukui grinned. "Diana, this is Professor Burnet. She runs the lab here, and yes, she's my wife. Honey, this is Diana."

"Diana Freeman." Burnet almost laughed. "I've heard about you, from both my husband and Lillie."

"Good things?" Diana asked, though the bigger part of her brain was wondering if she'd ever have someone to love and do science with, as Burnet and Kukui had each other - and a lab like this one would be nice, too.

"For the most part," Burnet said carefully. "I'm sorry about the situation with Lillie, Diana. But when I found her on a beach three months ago, she and Cosmog both unconscious, I had to help them both." Burnet clearly felt the way Diana did about Cosmog's nickname. "And since the scientists here use a lot of complicated machinery, I had my husband take her."

"He did mention you found Lillie."

Burnet seemed relieved that Diana had let it go, and then looked over at Kukui. "No Hau today?"

"He's doing his own thing."

"Actually," said Hau's voice, "I'm right here."

He was carrying a large box of malasadas. It seemed like he'd anticipated the lab getting Eli'd and had stopped for more than just a snack. Maybe he was an alien descendant, too, with the power of foresight.

Diana laughed quietly, and brushed it off when Lillie asked. He just knew Eli, that's all. A childhood friendship was an even better explanation.

"That's great, Hau! Now the party can really start."

"Why did you really bring us here, Professor?" Diana asked, and both Burnet and Kukui responded to her question.

Burnet had the better answer. "He suggested it because we agreed you would like to hear about the Ultra Wormholes."

Diana was quiet for half a second. "The what?"

"It's extremely rare," Burnet explained, "but sometimes, a hole opens up in the sky over Alola. People theorize that this hole leads into a different dimension. They say that sometimes rare and powerful Pokémon come out of the holes. I have yet to see it happen, but if the Pokedex says that some Pokémon come from different dimensions...with all of us together, I'm sure we'll either bust this myth or confirm the existence of these mysterious dimensions."

Diana wasn't aware of her awestruck expression, but those who could see it all laughed. "She's in," Eli told the professors for her.

"Thank you." Professor Burnet didn't seem to care about Diana's young age, like Colress had seemed to. Instead, she looked down at her with a warm smile. "This will help Lillie and Cosmog, as well. Thank you for being such a good friend to them, Diana."

She sounded like she was Lillie's mom. From the way Lillie looked at her, she seemed to agree.

Before Diana could think of a reason why, Hau cleared his throat, gesturing at the large box of malasadas he'd brought in. "All right, everyone! As fun as this was, we did kind of beat all three trials on this island. Kukui promised a party! The cake has been replaced with malasadas! Dig in!"

* * *

As Eli and Diana left the building, brains full of new information and bellies full of malasadas, they were plotting how to deal with Olivia. Neither of them could guess what Pokémon she had on her team, so Diana's plot to send out a Dartrix and see how far he'd go wasn't their best. But, when even Rotom admitted that it was what had worked so far, it became her plan anyway.

Then, out of nowhere, something lit up in the night sky. It looked a bit like white fireworks, but it wasn't loud enough. The fire alarm in the building went off again, but it was just Eli. And it was gone before they could continue to investigate.

Luckily, Diana knew what it was. "That was an Ultra Wormhole, wasn't it?"

"Probably," Eli agreed. "But it didn't spit anything out, right?"

"Didn't look like it."

"So this interdimensional Pokémon must be invisible."

She was too tired to fight him on that. Besides, he might have been right.

"That or it wanted us to go through it," Rotom suggested. "But I'm sure the three of us..." he looked over at Diana, then spoke only to Eli. "I'm sure the two of us are rational enough to not do it."

"I don't want to get killed by a brain-eating Pokémon," Eli agreed.

"Gotta get killed by something," said Diana, but the wormhole was already gone.

She'd get the next one, she decided. There was only so much the others could do to stop her.


	25. The Tunnel

**In which our heroes enter a hole.**

Diglett's Tunnel, fortunately, was a short walk from the lab, and something Diana could connect back to her own home. Kanto, too, had a tunnel named after Diglett.

It wasn't the same Diglett, she knew, but it was close enough. This trip would give her a chance to study the Alolan variant, and maybe see what was under the rocks...

But she'd take it one step at a time. Step 1 was dealing with the kahuna, and whoever she was talking to.

The two strange people dressed in white turned and left, not seeming to notice the kids. When Olivia turned, she did notice, and both cousins found themselves distracted once again. There was hardly any light, so Olivia's jewelry didn't sparkle, but Diana focused on her anyway.

Was everyone in Alola ridiculously attractive? More importantly, would Diana ever be?

Luckily, Olivia couldn't read minds. "I see the two of you are interested in Diglett's Cave," she said, and the cousins shared a look.

"Not really," Eli said immediately.

"Then I assume you don't want to know that the Diglett are getting out of hand?"

"We've only encountered a single Zubat since we got here," Diana pointed out. "We haven't noticed any Diglett at all." She pulled out the small bag she was using to hold all her Z-Crystals. "I was actually looking for you. I wanted my Grand Trial."

Olivia smiled. "Well, then. If you can pass through this tunnel, I will prepare for our battle. I suggest you explore Konikoni City. My shop is there, so you can most likely find me there."

"What do you have in your shop?" Diana asked, eyeing Olivia's jewelry and building up hope. She could feel Murkrow's ball twitch as he, too, developed hope.

"You'll see." Olivia's smile turned secretive, then looked back at Eli. "This place does have some Fire Stones around, now and then. I think the Diglett leave them there for trainers. If you find one, feel free to take it."

Eli's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "How do you know I have a Pokémon that could use a Fire Stone?"

"I spoke to Professor Kukui, Eli. I know you're a budding Fire-type specialist, just like I know Diana's motivation is to investigate the Pokedex. As kahuna, I want to help you both in any way I can."

Eli, despite not feeling called to the Fire-type specialty so much as feeling it was being forced on him, merely grunted. He did seem to relax, though, which was all Diana cared about.

"We can take it from here, Olivia," Diana promised, preparing to lead him away.

"I know you can. I wish you good luck regardless."

* * *

Eli did get his Fire Stone. He did not evolve Growlithe with it yet. He gave his cousin an explanation that she didn't really pay attention to, and she climbed a set of metal stairs without him. She stopped when she saw the people Olivia had been talking to, and this time, they saw her.

"Hi," said the woman. "Are you here to help Olivia with the Diglett, too?"

"No," Diana answered immediately. "Why did she choose you? No offense."

"We're the Aether Foundation," the man explained. "We're a Pokémon conservation group."

"Team Skull got the Diglett riled up," the woman explained. "It's a good thing you aren't getting involved, really. They like interfering with trainers and Pokémon."

"We've been involved with Team Skull," Eli told them. "We can take them."

"They interrupted my first trial," Diana continued. "I beat them with only a Murkrow."

"It does sound like you can take care of yourselves." The man looked around, then turned to his coworker. "I think the Diglett are all calm now. We should get back to the Paradise."

"Good call." The woman rolled her eyes. "I'd hate for Faba to think we're goofing off."

They left, laughing. Diana looked back to Eli. "Well, then. We should get a move on, too."

"Good plan. In theory."

"In theory?"

Eli gestured around them. "Do you know how to get out of here?"

Diana stopped mid-thought. "Rotom!" she called, and the Pokedex hopped out to guide them, even though his map didn't give him a way out of tunnels.

* * *

A bit more wandering, and the three decided to stop. Not because they got tired - they found Team Skull.

Luckily, neither grunt recognized them.

"Just when things were startin' to heat up, yo, I got surrounded by Diglett and beat up, yo!"

"Seriously," Diana said bluntly, "stop it. Rap talk is acceptable when rapping to music, but anywhere else will get you nothing but a punch in the face. Please move so we can continue without resorting to violence."

"Don't be mad 'cause you were the fools who were dumb enough to be here now."

"Improved grammar. Thank you."

"I thought I heard your voice." The cousins turned to find Hau, casually walking up behind them. He looked at the grunts, then back at the heroes. "You're up against Team Skull?"

"They're just blocking our way," Diana summarized. "It's nothing serious."

"We should face off, yo!" The grunt looked to his companion. "You want to help me kick their butts, or what?"

The other grunt shrugged. "Why not?" she decided. "Beats sitting around and doing nothing."

Diana stepped back. "This one's on you, boys," she told her friends. "I'm staying out of it for now."

"Are you sure?" Hau asked, and Diana nodded.

"Don't worry. It'll take you about five seconds."

Reassured, Hau joined his childhood friend in the battle.

* * *

The grunts ran away after their defeat, and Hau left them at the entrance to go and train more. They let him, walking into the next city together.

It was nice, Diana decided. It wasn't much bigger than Viridian City, certainly smaller than Saffron. And lit up like this at night...she was sure things would be awesome.

But as eager as she was to explore it, and see what Olivia's shop was, she had to take care of a few things first. And, hearing Eli's stomach growl beside her, she was sure he'd agree.

"Food?" she suggested, gesturing to a convenience store right on the outskirts.

"Food," Eli agreed. "Then sleep?"

"I was hoping for exploring," Diana admitted.

"I've walked more than I wanted to today," he pointed out. "And the whole wormhole thing. We can explore more in the daytime, right?"

"I guess." Diana looked down at Murkrow's ball. "I was hoping that we'd get to go shopping, at least. Just to look at any pretty sparkly things that might be sitting out..."

"The jewelry stores are probably closed by now," Eli pointed out. "And I'm pretty sure the clothing stores are shutting down, too."

"He's got a point there," Rotom seconded. "The shiny things will be there tomorrow."

"But what about -"

Eli crossed his arms in the same stubborn way that Diana often did, getting her suspicious that he might be mocking her. "Do you really want to argue with a kid who can set fires with his mind?"

"No," Diana said reluctantly. "But you don't even know your trigger. You can't stop me."

Stanford suddenly burst out of his ball.** "We can stop you,"** he told her. Rotom quickly translated it, and before she could object, he flew up to her face.** "Do not do sleep-deprived science, Diana. I can't believe that's something I actually have to tell you."**

As Rotom translated for him once more, Diana looked over her trusted starter. "I guess we can call the 'Dartrix is a figurative birdbrain' myth busted now, huh?"


	26. Crow in a Jewelry Store

** EDITOR'S NOTE: "Olivia has both of my dream jobs - jewelry maker and professional Pokémon trainer. If only I could get paid for either."**

"So you're telling me that Olivia uses Rock-types?"

The nurse at the Pokémon Center backed up slightly, as Diana's enthusiasm was almost frightening. "That's right," she said, voice breaking a little bit. "Do you have a plan?"

"Do you count a Poliwhirl, a Stufful, and a Dartrix who has single-handedly won me two trials as a plan?" As she named them, her Pokémon cheered, leaving Murkrow and Lycanroc to make uncomfortable eye contact before going back to eating their beans.

The nurse's eyes widened slightly. "Well...yes, I suppose that could be considered a plan."

"Awesome!" Diana turned to face her team, grinning maniacally. "Did you hear that? Today, lady and gentlemen, we will fight! We will win! We will get that Z-Crystal!"

**"Aren't we supposed to go to Olivia's shop first?"** Lycanroc asked.

"Aren't we supposed to go to Olivia's shop first?" Eli repeated before Rotom could translate. He had his Salandit on his shoulder, Larvesta on his lap, and his pet-looking pets both curled up at his feet, watching Diana get excited as they chomped away.

**"There's no way she's going to believe I said that first."**

Diana looked over at Rotom, her smile becoming more nervous. "So," she said after a moment. "Where is Olivia's shop, and can you tell me what it is she sells? For science, of course."

Murkrow made a sound of disbelief. Salandit nodded in agreement. Rotom just pulled up the map.

"It's right across the street."

"Great." Diana adjusted her bag and called her Pokémon back to their balls, Eli following her lead. Murkrow alone remained, and he hopped along behind his trainer, feeding her anticipation with his own. "If I beat Olivia on my first try, I'll check out the shops. Right now, I need some Hyper Potions."

* * *

Olivia's shop was everything Diana and Murkrow had dreamed it would be. So many shiny and sparkly things covered the walls, tables, even the cash register. He watched as both girl and bird struggled to restrain each other, each clearly doubting their own self-control, Diana running her fingers across a crystal necklace and Murkrow half-jokingly scooping stuff into a pile with his wings. He was about to get involved, but that was when the Probopass arrived.

The Probopass had a paper stuck in its 'mustache,' and floated away from the boy when he reached for it. "Come on, dude," Eli promised. "I'm a lot better than I was. I think happiness is the extinguisher. Just hand me the paper, and I'll get out of here."

Probopass eyed him suspiciously, but came within reach.** "Just don't hurt the shop."**

Eli took the paper, and read it through quickly. "She's not here, Diana," he called, and she turned her head away from the sparkles, the sound of her name bringing her back to reality. "She wants to meet us at the Ruins of Life, past Memorial Hill."

"Doesn't she know you Eli'd the last ruins we visited?"

"Just the bridge!" Eli complained, but Diana's attention was gone again, this time as she sadly explained to Murkrow how they couldn't afford so many pretties and had no place to put them all.

Probopass almost knocked him aside as it went right for Diana, something balanced on its 'hat' this time. It bowed when it got close to her, the Max Potion falling off its head.

"Is this for me?" Diana asked, Rotom popping his face out of her bag to translate.

Probopass said something quickly. "It says that Olivia wanted you to have it."

Diana picked up the gift, frowning. "She gave me medicine? That almost makes it seem like she doesn't have any faith in me..."

But then she got distracted by the sight of evolution stones, and rushed to the front to ask if they had Dusk Stones for her Murkrow. Eli groaned and pulled out Robbie's ball.

"We're gonna be here forever, aren't we?" he asked it.

The Torracat said nothing, for obvious reasons. His trainer still took that silence as a yes, and forcibly dragged the girl and the crow out of the shop.

* * *

Memorial Hill was another cemetery, to no one's surprise. Diana considered going after a Phantump for her investigations, but decided it would be better if she just focused on her current mission first. She could come by later and catch more Pokémon. With that in mind, she put her Poliwhirl up in the first party slot and gave him the Amulet Coin she'd found by a truck.

"I need to have money for my new outfit and my healing supplies," she told them all. "If I'm going to set a good example for Lillie and wear what I want to wear instead of what Mom buys for me, I have to be smart about it."

Eli didn't answer. He was busy focused on an Aether Foundation employee - easily recognized by the white outfit - and the man accompanying her. The man, like Colress, was tall and wearing both scary shiny glasses and a lab coat, but where Colress had been immediately attached to Diana once he'd heard of her interest in science, this guy looked like he was barely paying any attention.

"Team Skull! Give back that Pokémon!"

Diana froze at the sound of the team's name. "Back away," she ordered her cousin. "Slowly. If they don't see us, we won't get involved."

One of the grunts jumped at the white-clad pair, fortunately still unaware of the kids. "Don't give me trouble! I'll reduce you to rubble!"

The other grunt nodded. "We're gonna sell this Pokémon to get rich, and we won't make no bones about it!"

The Slowpoke beside them stared off into the distance, and Diana thought, for just a moment, that it made eye contact with her. She shook her head slowly. Slowpoke, very deliberately, looked away.

And there was more intelligence in those eyes than rumors stated, so Diana immediately changed her mind on not getting involved.

"Think of what the president would say," the strange scientist warned the woman, and the Aether employee, very clearly, struggled not to roll her eyes.

"So I assume you're going to do something, then?"

"I am the Aether Foundation's last line of defense!" The man sounded so obnoxious with that one little line that Diana couldn't stop the eye roll. "What would become of the foundation if something were to happen to me?"

"Wicke," was the immediate answer. Clearly, the employee had dealt with enough of this guy before.

Luckily, Diana interfered at that moment. "I'm interested in that Slowpoke," she told the Aether employees. "I've defeated Team Skull grunts before. Maybe we can make a deal out of it."

"Don't." Even as the word left his mouth, Eli knew it was a waste of breath. He couldn't stop Diana before, so nothing would change now.

The scientist looked at Diana, distaste in his eyes. A small child, dressed in a flower-print shirt, was offering to make a deal? Who did she think she was?

But, as the only one here who could keep the foundation's hands clean of the fight, he had to relent. "Defeat Team Skull first," he told her. "Then we shall see what happens."

"But it's for science," Diana protested.

The man smiled, but it was more condescending than excited. "How cute. She believes she's a scientist."

He wasn't like Colress at all. Diana tried and failed to look intimidating. "So maybe I haven't graduated, or destroyed my backyard. But I'm investigating rumors like a real scientist."

"Really? Then what's your hypothesis?"

"My hypothesis is that you're a butt!"

"I think a hypothesis has to be a theory, not a fact, Diana," Eli interrupted.

The man's anger was almost boiling, but he stepped aside. "Fine, then. Save the Slowpoke, and then we will talk."

Diana reached for a ball. "Poliwhirl! You're up!"

* * *

By the time Diana and Poliwhirl had defeated the Raticate, the scientist had changed his opinion. He mentioned something about a resort, but Diana wasn't paying attention. The Aether employee had taken the Slowpoke while the battle was going on, and her annoyance at the confiscation of her test subject was clear on her face. Eli had to half-drag her back to town.

But, with a quick backtrack to the Pokémon Center, they were heading back to the ruins. They were stopped by a woman with pink and yellow hair, black clothes, a belly tattoo, and, most irritating of all, a Team Skull symbol around her neck.

"So, you're the ones Gladion was talking about?"

Diana crossed her arms stubbornly. "Are you Team Skull's boss?"

The woman shook her head. "I am Plumeria. The boss runs it, but I hold Team Skull together. Like a big sister."

"And you're aware that your little siblings are idiots, right?"

"Very," Plumeria answered without missing a beat. "But don't you think some dummies are cute in their dumbness?"

Diana glanced over at Eli, then nodded, as if in agreement. "I have the same feelings whenever he claims he has alien ancestry."

"_We_ have alien ancestry," Eli corrected. "And you're only a few months older than me."

"See what I mean?" Diana grinned. "I guess I kind of am like a big sister to him."

"That's not my point!" Plumeria snapped. "My point is that you beating up my cute, dumb siblings is annoying me, and I want revenge!"

"You don't want to do that," Eli objected, but Diana had already pushed him forward.

"I beat the last Team Skull agent," she told him. "It's your turn again."

Fine. If she wanted it that way.

As Plumeria sent out Golbat, Eli sent out Salandit. "A Poison-type showdown," he summarized. Salandit looked back at him and nodded, and he smiled back. "Let's see who wins!"


	27. Time to Shine

**When we realized that our Diana was not a fan of her default outfit, the editor decided to buy her replay character a new one more in line with our Diana's tastes. The result is written here.**

It was a bit more difficult than Eli had expected, first with the Golbat confusing everything and then the Salandit being a Fire-type, too. But he won, due more to having four Pokémon instead of two, and Plumeria conceded defeat.

"If her sidekick is this strong, I see why Gladion lost. But if either of you mess with Team Skull again, I'll show you how serious I can get."

Eli was about to say something, but Plumeria left, pushing past Lillie and Professor Burnet as she did. Lillie flinched, but Burnet seemed to expect it.

"Lillie got lost again," she explained. "She said she saw Team Skull."

"We took care of them," Diana said quickly.

"Yes, it doesn't seem hard." Burnet looked back at Lillie and nodded. "I'll leave you here. The Masked Royal has a match, and there's no way I'm missing it!" Her smile turned dreamy. "I wonder what he looks like under that mask..."

"He's your_ husband!_" Diana pointed out, but Burnet's glare told her all she needed to know about the wrestler.

"Let him have this," the older scientist hissed, and she walked away, humming what Diana supposed was the Masked Royal's theme song. Right when she was out of sight, Olivia finally arrived from the ruins.

"I'm sorry about that," she said to Diana. "Tapu Lele called me specifically to help clean up the ruins."

"Did these ruins catch on fire, too?" Diana asked.

"Only the bridge!" Eli hissed, getting a slight giggle from Lillie.

Olivia shook her head. "It was just some minor Team Skull vandalism. It's nothing important." She took notice of their slightly disappointed faces, and smiled. "I thought you would want that Z-Crystal as soon as possible, Diana. Don't tell me you want to quit now."

"Who said anything about quitting?"

Lillie stepped forward. "I'll heal your Pokémon for you, first," she insisted. "And Eli's, too."

"Just Eli's. I went back to the Pokémon Center." Diana pulled Rotom from her bag and nodded to him. "Start filming," she instructed, "and don't forget the boss music."

Olivia smiled wider. "Great. We're going to give it everything we've got!" She pulled out her first Pokeball. "I hope you're ready for your strongest challenge on Akala Island! Nosepass, go!"

Diana watched the Pokémon appear, and for a moment, she wondered how big its boogers would be. The thought was quickly shaken from her head - she was a scientist, she'd prefer to learn important things first. "Let's do this, Stanford!"

* * *

When it came down to it, the key to Diana's victory this time wasn't Stanford. For the first time, it was another Pokémon that won it for her.

Stanford, being a Flying-type, had a weakness to Rock that left him vulnerable, and Rock-types had high defenses. He didn't make it past the Nosepass that Olivia had chosen first, so Diana sent out Stufful instead. Her resistance to Rock-type moves came in handy for her to take out the Nosepass with a Payback attack, and she knew Bide to wear down the Boldore. She fell to the Midnight Lycanroc's Z-Move, but that was when Poliwhirl and Diana's own Midnight Lycanroc came in handy.

Olivia, as any kahuna would be, was a graceful loser. "Diamonds only sparkle after coal is pushed to its absolute limit," she explained. "Here, the Rock-type Z-Crystal. You've earned it."

"Rockium Z?" Diana asked for clarification, as if she needed it. Olivia nodded. "And can you show me the dance one more time?"

She felt embarrassed to ask. But when Olivia had done it to take out Stufful, Diana had been distracted. After all, it was daylight, Olivia had shiny jewelry, and she was pretty enough to make Diana think 'stupid pretty kahuna' more than once. But this time, she paid attention.

She wasn't the only one distracted, it seemed. Lillie and Cosmog were watching the dance, too. Both seemed pleased, envious, and in Cosmog's case, excited. It inched closer to Diana.

"No, Nebby," Lillie scolded, and Cosmog groaned but shuffled back to her side.

Olivia turned at the sound of her voice. "You said yourself you're not a Trainer," she said, and Lillie nodded. "So why bother to come to the Ruins of Life?"

Lillie gestured to the Pokémon. "Because of Nebby," she answered. "I just want to help it get home, but I don't know how. It likes playing in ruins, so I keep visiting them to see if I can find a way..."

Olivia looked down at Cosmog. "You don't see a Pokémon like that every day," she stated. "What did you say it was called?"

"It's called Nebby…"

"I meant its species," Olivia clarified. Something about her voice told them all that she was trying to be polite. When Cosmog made its trademark 'pew' sound, she had to smile. "It doesn't matter. I'll take you back to town."

Of course, the moment was ruined when Hau ran up, once again far too excited for his own good. "Kahuna Olivia! I challenge you to..." he paused as he saw the three kids accompanying her. "Oh! Hey, guys! Did Diana just finish her Grand Trial?"

"You missed the whole thing," Eli told him. "Try catching up sooner, next time."

"I can catch it online, I'm subscribed to Rotom." Hau made a face at him. "Why don't you try not to set things on fire."

"Hey, I've been doing great!" Eli threw an arm around Diana's shoulders. "Being a Trainer really works for me! I'm not as flammable, or paranoid, or even afraid when I have Diana and our Pokémon with me! I'm almost cured!"

The grass behind him spontaneously combusting said otherwise.

* * *

Hau told them that 'the green guy from the Aether Foundation' told him to check out the Hano Grand Resort. Diana, though just as curious as she should be, was annoyed by Faba enough that she decided to keep him waiting.

Besides, Hau was battling Olivia. If Faba had only invited him, they'd need his help getting in. And since she'd told Lillie that she'd start following her own sense of style instead of her mother's, there was no better time than now to start.

Eli and Rotom were both bored out of their minds as they waited for her to choose her new outfit. She herself felt ridiculous stepping out of the changing room to the least likely people to be interested, but she was rewarded by Rotom jumping in to take pictures.

Eli was actually impressed, too. "You actually_ did_ choose an entirely new outfit," he said, as if it shocked him. "All the way down to the shoes."

"I said I was going to embrace my own style," she reminded him. She took a moment to cringe. "My style is more _expensive_ than I thought, but..."

Rotom didn't stop the spontaneous photoshoot. "But your own style makes you look even better! No more floral-print yellow! No more green shorts! Embrace the inner Water-type user!"

Diana looked down at her outfit. She'd chosen a white and pale blue puff-sleeve top, a white pleated skirt with hidden shorts built in, and blue sandals with ankle straps. Did she look like a Water-type specialist? "I was going for Flying," she admitted. She tugged on the blue part of her shirt. "Sky." Then she brushed down her skirt. "Clouds."

"Even though you don't have a mostly-Flying team anymore?" Eli asked.

"I know I'm not a specialist, but I do have an owl and a crow on my team." Diana shrugged. "And if people think I'm a specialist, it would throw them off, right?"

"It might," Rotom confirmed.

"Good." Diana paid the woman behind the counter, yanked the tags off of her new purchases, and walked out of the store. "Then let's get to that resort. We're taking the long way - I can shake pebbles out of my shoes now."


	28. Aether Paradise

**In which Diana has a strange new experience, and meets an Ultra Beast face to face.**

Arriving at the Hano Grand Resort didn't take long at all. It was preparing to deal with Faba that ate up the time. Still, they eventually accepted that he was the only one capable of getting them to their next destination, so they put on their best fake smiles and walked into the building, waiting for Hau as always.

"I'm sure you remember me," Faba said, and Diana's smile flickered away before she fixed it back into place.

"Of course we do, sir," she said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. "You work with the Aether Foundation to help Pokémon."

"Correct. And you..." he looked her over. "You call yourself a scientist."

"I've found and investigated a few urban legends, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to what you've done. I'm sorry for being so rude before. I was just trying to be like the great minds at the Aether Foundation, and had no idea who I was speaking to. I hope you can forgive me."

She leaned forward slightly as she said it, not quite bowing in apology but trying to make it appear so. She was testing a theory at the moment, seeing if sucking up would get her anywhere. Eli followed her example, trying very hard not to roll his eyes. He saw through her sugar-sweet little-kid act immediately, and he believed that any competent adult would, too.

So it said a lot to him when Faba did not seem to notice the complete personality flip. "I'm sure it was just a passing incident," he told her, and Diana looked at her cousin with a brief 'kill me' expression. "Since you seem to be interested in studying Pokémon in a controlled environment, I can take you someplace absolutely astounding."

"That doesn't sound creepy at all," Eli muttered, and Diana bit her lip to keep from laughing.

"That sounds...incredible, sir." She did the bow-like movement again, this time so Faba wouldn't see the mocking smile. "But I would like to ask to bring my cousin along with me. I promised his parents I would look after him."

No mention of how Eli had promised the same for her. He resumed his innocent face and turned to Faba with wide, pleading eyes.

"Please can I come? I'll be good! I won't even bring out my Pokémon, if having a Fire-type specialist there makes you worried."

"A little overkill, kids," Professor Kukui's voice warned, quiet enough that Faba likely couldn't hear it. He had brought Hau and Olivia with him, but Lillie was no longer there. But before they could yell at him for blowing their cover, he changed the subject. "I've got some stuff to do, but tell me all about the technology at the Aether Foundation, yeah? We'll meet up again at Maile Garden on Ula'ula Island!"

* * *

Aether Paradise was a white, reflective artificial island. Spots of green and blue blurred Diana's vision long after the boat had landed, and they only cleared up when Faba introduced the three kids to a woman who wore a sweater in the Alolan heat.

Was she another 'alien' then? Diana had thought that wearing sweaters no matter what the weather was an experience most people couldn't stand to share. She preferred short sleeves herself...

Diana was busy focusing on the woman's unusual outfit, and didn't realize that Faba had dumped them on the sweater lady - who introduced herself as Wicke - until she was taking them on an elevator ride. They stopped in the main area for a moment, and then they were up again, to an indoor park. It even had trees and boulders.

"This is the floor where we take care of the Pokémon," Wicke explained. "We have an overload of Corsola at the moment - Mareanie and Toxapex have been eating the head corals for every meal."

"They haven't been paying attention to other prey?" Diana looked down at the Corsola under the bridge the group was standing on. "Don't they _have_ any other prey?"

"They do," Wicke confirmed, "but Corsola horns are their favorite food. A human analogy would be raw broccoli next to glazed carrots. You go for the carrots every time."

Diana looked down at the Corsola again. Surely it couldn't be the favorite food of _all_ Mareanie _everywhere_...

"So can we meet this president?" Eli interrupted, distracting her from her thoughts once again. He held up a small information packet that Diana hadn't noticed him pick up. "I read about this place on the way here, and there are a few questions I want to ask her."

Wicke smiled and gestured. "She should be over there," she told them. "But be careful. She can get a little wrapped up in her science, and might be a bit snappy at being distracted."

"I'll keep that in mind," Eli promised, and led the other kids away.

A tree burst into flame as they passed by it, but a Starmie put it out. They watched as the Pokémon returned to a tall woman with long blonde hair, who got down to pet its top point.

"Such a sweet creature you are," she said, and the Starmie made a pleased sound. "I promise to keep you safe."

Wicke cleared her throat. "Madam President? Diana, Hau and Eli are here to see you."

The president turned around. The smile she'd given the Starmie was gone, and Eli felt his hands curl into fists as another fire started. But the president didn't seem to notice, even when Starmie returned to duty and seemed disappointed when it didn't get rewarded this time.

Diana couldn't help but stare. Something was familiar (and slightly unnerving) about the woman's sharp green eyes, but she was far too distracted by her hair. So long and shiny, it could almost take attention from the fact that it looked kind of like a half-unwrapped waffle cone.

"Welcome to the Aether Foundation building," said the president. "My name is Lusamine Notevil-Goodperson, I run the place. And you three must be trial goers."

"Notevil-Goodperson?" Diana repeated, groaning internally. "Really?"

Eli shoved the pamphlet under his cousin's nose. "It says right here," he said, pointing it out. "The founder of the Aether Paradise was a man named Richard Notevil-Goodperson. The current president is his daughter Lusamine."

"That would be me," Lusamine said with another warm smile.

"It says that Lusamine married a scientist at Aether with a much better last name," Eli continued, "and took the obvious choice to dich her maiden name and let it die. And then her husband vanished five years later. Rumor has it that she cut off his head and stuffed it in a freezer."

"Wait...you're _married_?" Hau asked Lusamine, eyes going wide. He really must be used to Eli, if something like that could be ignored. "But aren't you only a little older than us?"

Lusamine had frowned at the mention of her husband, but focused on answering Hau's question. "It all depends on if you consider a woman over 40 'a little older.' Yes, there was a man in my life once. But my husband had an accident, so I no longer use his name on anything but legal documents. Let's leave it there."

Eli refused. "So you admit that your husband's the missing scientist?"

"I said let's drop it." Like a child, Lusamine turned her back to the whole situation, this time focusing on an Alolan Grimer.

Eli opened his mouth again, but Diana slammed her hand into his chest so hard it actually hurt. "If you ask her where she put her husband's head," she hissed, "I will make sure yours is sitting right next to it."

"So you admit that there is a head."

Lusamine turned back at the girl's roar, and watched in horrified fascination as Diana lunged at Eli with all the practiced skill of a Pyroar after her prey.

"Children!" she snapped, stomping her foot. "Control yourselves! We wouldn't want you getting hurt now, would we?"

"He's got the advantage in a fight," Diana protested, but Eli shushed her. Two fires in Lusamine's line of sight, and she hadn't put together that the infamous Eli Frost was standing right there? This was a new record for him, and he planned to enjoy it.

"It doesn't matter," Lusamine told them. "Here in the Aether Paradise, we show only love. It puts the Pokémon at ease, knowing the humans won't harm them or use them for profit. After all, what being wouldn't want to know they were loved?"

Diana stopped. "Do you do any actual science here, or is it a hug convention?"

Lusamine half-smiled. "Both. My goal in life is to give Pokémon my love. Even those from distant worlds."

Eli perked up at this. "Distant worlds? You mean aliens?"

"Just because you're a Fire-type doesn't mean the rest of us are Pokémon," Diana snapped back, and then she shared a look with Hau. "We should leave. Now, before he asks an alien Pokémon to take him to the planet of our ancestors."

"What?" Lusamine seemed upset. "But you just got here. You seem too cute...and I like the girl's choice in clothing colors."

"Uh...thanks?" Diana wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not, and glanced down at her new outfit self-consciously. "It's better than what my mom forced me to wear."

Something about this seemed to annoy Lusamine, but what it was went unexplained. A loud noise distracted them, and the minor earthquake that accompanied it caught even Diana off guard.

Four things happened simultaneously. First, the shaking stopped, only to be replaced by not just an Ultra Wormhole, but one spewing a creature out of it. Second, the temperature dropped, and Hau wasn't sure if he was shaking from fear or from cold. Third, Eli set the same tree on fire for the third time, despite the chill around him. And, most surprising of all, Lusamine's smile was no longer welcoming, but excited and bordering on wicked.

Diana processed none of it. She was too busy asking herself a thousand questions at once, most of them relating to Eli's theories about their biology. For a brief, barely-there moment, she had felt something cold. And, oddly, it had started in her chest, right where her heart was.

"This is crazy in a box with a side order of fries," she mumbled to herself as the Ultra Beast hovered in front of her.

Hau was the first to jump into action.

"Diana!" he called, and she jumped at the sound of her name. That only raised more questions, but at least now she had something to distract herself with. Hau pointed at the Ultra Beast. "Distract that thing! I have to get Miss Lusamine out of here!"

The burning tree was helping return the temperature to normal, but Starmie was working on extinguishing it again. Diana focused on the interdimensional jellyfish, and let annoyance override curiosity, and whatever else accompanied it.

"Rotom! Play boss music!"

* * *

The creature took out Poliwhirl, but that was just because Diana had gotten overconfident with his Bubblebeam. It appeared to give extra damage to the jellyfish, which meant it was weak to water. If Ultra Beasts were just Pokémon - and given the thing's reaction to Bubblebeam, Diana suspected they were - it must mean that Poliwhirl had a type advantage. So, naturally, at his defeat, she switched in Stanford, wondering if that meant it was Rock, Fire, or Ground-type.

Razor Leaf did neutral damage, it appeared. But any further experimentation was cut short as the creature fled, leaving not even the Ultra Wormhole behind.

The temperature had returned to normal during the battle, and Hau and Lusamine were still present. Lusamine was even talking to herself.

"That creature was undoubtedly an Ultra Beast," she said, and the smile from before returned. "An unknown being crawling from an Ultra Wormhole...it looked like it was suffering. I can't stand to see a Pokémon suffering. I will save it. And I will love it!"

"Kinda creepy there," Eli pointed out. But he didn't mention her husband's head this time, so Diana gave him a point.

Lusamine ignored him. "Wicke. The children are still in the middle of their island challenge, aren't they? Deliver them to the next island."

Wicke nodded, though it was clear she was still shaken up by the sudden appearance of an Ultra Beast. "Yes. Of course. At once, ma'am."

"I will check on our resident Pokémon and see if they came to any harm," Lusamine continued. "And I'll need to speak with Faba about what happened downstairs."

"About more than that, probably," Diana said under her breath.

Lusamine continued on. "You and I both face our greatest challenges for the foundation yet. I will need to protect the Ultra Beasts from people who would use them. And you..." she suddenly pointed at Eli, fury in her eyes, though she did not look away from Wicke. "Keep this abomination from our island at all costs."

Wicke nodded. "I'll see them off to Ula'ula Island right away," she promised, and pushed the trio back to the boat.

"I think she figured it out," Eli said casually.

"It only took the third fire," Diana added. "Personal best, huh?"

Hau was still blabbering about the Ultra Wormhole, promising to tell Professor Burnet immediately. Wicke was nodding along, and gave all three of them gifts of malasadas and, in Diana's case, a TM.

"Every scientist has a collection," she said with a smile, and Colress once again crossed Diana's mind. "And every trainer has at least one. I hope you find it useful."

"I probably will," Diana said, returning the smile. "Thanks, Wicke. For the experience, and the chance to study an Ultra Beast."

Neither of them mentioned how it seemed like a bad idea to ever come back. Which was a shame, as they would have been in complete agreement.


	29. Where the Nerds Hang Out

**Eli doesn't have much faith in his friends, does he?**

"Land ahoy!" Hau laughed as they hopped off the boat once again. "I can't wait to see the sights and have new adventures!"

"And new trials," Diana added, reaching back to make sure her Z-Crystals were all still there.

"And probably more love interests," Eli said in mock seriousness, before grinning mischievously at his cousin. She turned red and playfully hit him, and he laughed out loud. "Come on! A guy on Melemele ties your tongue, a guy on Akala gave you a nickname. You're two out of two here."

"Gladion calls me Buttercup to be insulting, Eli. Not romantic."

"At our age? That's pretty much the same thing." He laughed and ducked as she went to hit him again. "It's when you turn 15 that it becomes annoying instead of ship-teasy."

"She looks pretty annoyed, Eli," Rotom pointed out. "Maybe you should stop it."

Eli refused. "If people were doing this stuff to me, she'd say the same things," he pointed out, something Diana had to acknowledge. "We're friends, and that's what friends do. We make fun of each others' crushes."

Hau laughed at that. "If that's how you handle it, I'm glad I never told you about any of my crushes."

"I know about your crush on Supergirl, Hau. I think that situation makes fun of itself."

"Yeah, I guess it kind of does." Deciding a subject change was in order, Hau looked back at Diana. "Well, we made it to another island! What do you say to a rival battle?"

Diana considered, briefly. "Why not?" she decided. "It's better than listening to Eli try to ship real people."

"Great!" Hau pulled out a Pokeball. "I've made a few adjustments to my team, Diana! Let's see if you can predict them!"

Hau's Raichu alone took out Lycanroc, and only Murkrow's Dark typing made his Pursuit attack worth using. Stanford against Brionne had the usual outcome, but then Hau revealed his newest Pokémon - a Flareon. A Flareon that knew Fire Fang. Stanford did not last long in that matchup.

Luckily, Poliwhirl did.

* * *

When the battle ended, Diana victorious once again, the group decided to head off to the Malie Garden, where Professor Kukui had said he was going to wait for them. Hau started searching down the middle of the garden, leaving the cousins to look around the edge. They were happily searching, until they found a giant spider with a water bubble on its head.

"I don't think I've even seen that one in books," Diana said quietly, and looked back to where she saw a very normal-looking Ariados on a tree.

"That's an Araquanid," Rotom explained. "Conflicting data says it either protects small Pokémon by putting them in its water bubble, or it uses the bubble to drown prey."

"So one of them is true," Diana said quietly. She smiled. "Then we'll have to figure out which one! Come on, Rotom - detour!"

Eli rolled his eyes and continued the search without them. He had enough Fire-types to deal with any bugs, and the occasional Poliwag that he encountered could easily be taken out with a couple shots of Salandit's Dragon Rage. Diana, Rotom, and the Araquanid followed behind, close enough for him to see but too far for him to hear. He didn't know if she captured it or was just stalking it. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

He found the professor at the same time Hau did. Diana was probably in the man's sight, too, but neither of the boys turned around to check.

"You boys look excited," Kukui said with his trademark smile. "Did I miss something big?"

"You sure did," Eli confirmed. "Tell him, Hau."

Hau took the permission and ran with it. "An Ultra Wormhole opened up right in front of us, right, and there really are Ultra Beasts in there! And then Diana actually fought one, and it looked like she was doing some science on it, because she got that look on her face like she wants to steal it and lock it up in a lab, but then it ran away from her, probably because it looked at that face. You've gotta tell Professor Burnet for us!"

Kukui, used to hearing rambles by now, was just as excited. "You kids saw a real Ultra Beast? That IS amazing! Maybe we've got an entire team of future scientists, yeah?"

Eli shook his head. "No offense, Professor, but you're being too optimistic about our futures." He gestured to himself. "I'm destined to be a paranoid nutbar who lives in a cave, and Hau here is going to end up obese from eating too many malasadas."

"I do have a problem," Hau admitted, not even flinching.

Eli continued. "Lillie's gonna be on the FBI's most wanted list if she isn't already, and Diana..."

There was a splash as Diana slammed her head into the Araquanid's bubble. Hau turned at the sound, smile finally slipping into concern, but Eli did not break eye contact with the professor.

"Take a wild guess," Eli finished, as Hau pulled Diana out of the bubble over her own and Rotom's protests.

"She had its permission!" Rotom objected.

"I was in the middle of sciencing!" Diana whined.

The Araquanid shook its head and retreated. It honestly thought the girl and her little mechanical friend were funny, and wanted to keep them around. Even so, it was not interested in_ them_ keeping_ it_ around.

Especially now that the tall human was talking about an island challenge. That wasn't going to be fun.

"There's a trial up on Mount Hokulani," Kukui told the kids. "It's just a bus ride away. There's even an observatory for you kids."

Hau laughed again. "Maybe we can find what planet your ancestors come from, guys!"

"Don't encourage him," Diana complained.

But Eli was already gone. Diana groaned, and ran off to stop him before he could get too far.

* * *

Lillie was waiting by the entrance to the garden, and pulled Diana aside, leaving Eli to assume they were talking about girl things and leave them alone. "Diana? Since you seem to be in charge here, can I ask you something?"

"Local ruins?" Diana guessed.

Lillie nodded. "You know me too well. I want to take Nebby to the Ula'ula ruins, but they're deep in a desert. But I wouldn't ask you for that. I want to visit Malie Library. I know it's here in the city somewhere, so even I can find it. I just want to know if you're comfortable leaving your cousin behind, because..."

"Pyrokinesis," Diana finished.

Lillie nodded again. "What do you say?"

Diana thought it over. "I don't think I'll be able to leave Eli behind," she warned. "But luckily for us, his powers only come out when his emotions are strong. As long as we keep him as neutral as possible, we'll probably be fine."

Lillie smiled and thanked her, and then she turned to leave. Then she stopped and turned back.

"By the way, Diana...why are you wet?"

Diana was spared from answering by Rotom seeing someone else entirely, and calling "Professor!"

Both girls focused on the man who heard the call, and Diana's mouth fell open. It couldn't be...

"Professor Oak?"

The man who could not have been Professor Oak laughed. "I'm surprised you recognized me! I thought only Rotom knew me."

The voice was wrong, the hair was wrong, the clothes were wrong. And yet, the face was a complete match for Professor Oak. He couldn't have retired to Alola, gotten a tan, grown a mullet, and met Rotom since Diana had moved, right?

"It's good to meet you," the man continued. "I'm Oak - Samson Oak. I'm a Pokémon researcher, and I'm looking into the regional variants found around here."

Lillie nodded. "I'm Lillie. I'm researching ancient legends involving the Tapu."

"I'm Diana," Diana cut in. "I'm researching urban legends found in the Pokedex."

"I'm Eli," said the boy. "I'm researching the possibility of human-alien hybrids."

"And I," Rotom said proudly, "am the one in charge of keeping these young researchers alive!"

Eli glared at him. "You _just_ let Diana shove her head into an Araquanid's bubble."

"Hey! He gave her permission!"

Samson Oak laughed. "Well, then! It seems all three of you have your hands full! Follow me to the library - all four of us should find leads on our research somewhere in there, right?"

And, seeing as how Rotom clearly had a map to the library, they decided to just meet him there.


	30. Knowledge is Power

**In which an important character arrives, exposition is given, and Eli gets a taste of his own medicine.**

They took a detour for snacks, but thanks to Rotom's map, found the library, and Lillie standing in front of it. Surprisingly, she looked mildly panicked.

"What happened?" Diana asked. "Did Cosmog run off again? Have you thought of changing its name?"

Lillie shook her head. "Nebby's still in the bag. I just...well, there was an outfit at the boutique, and it was the last one in stock, so I bought it."

"Good for you?" Diana couldn't help but phrase it as a question. Lillie was still wearing the pretty dress and cute hat. "And you're saying that it doesn't fit?"

"No." Lillie swallowed. "I'm...I was just a little nervous, that's all. It's the first outfit my mother didn't choose for me."

Diana gestured down at her own new outfit. "My mom didn't buy mine, but I'm not nervous about her seeing it."

Lillie sighed. "Seeing your change gave me the courage to do mine. I guess I need more courage to actually wear it."

Well, if Lillie needed more courage, Diana could always trick Eli into letting her give him a makeover. And use his money - her new outfit was both nicer than her previous one and too expensive for her current situation. She wasn't doing that again any time soon.

Then there came the loud sound of a Mudsdale galloping up to them. Eli cried "Ultra Beast!" and sent out his Growlithe, but Diana recognized it immediately.

"Did you seriously follow us to another island, Hapu?" she asked, and was answered by Hapu's laughter.

"Figured someone should keep an eye out for you two," Hapu replied. "But the tapu haven't turned against you yet, so I figure your challenge must be going well, or you dropped it completely. Either way, good news for Alola." Then she noticed Lillie. "And who might this be?"

Lillie, who had been just as startled by Mudsdale as Eli, quickly regained her composure. "My name is Lillie. I'm a friend of theirs, looking for answers about the tapu."

Hapu smiled. "Then I'll be willing to help you whenever you need it. My Mudsdale can carry more than one."

"So why are you here, Hapu?" Eli asked. "Not that it's not great to see you, but -"

"I'm just making some deliveries from my family farm. I saw you two and thought I should say hi." She looked over at Diana, and she smiled. "I like your new outfit, Diana. Somehow suits you better. Anyway, we should go. See you later."

Then she and Mudsdale turned and left. The kids, deciding it was best not to ask, entered the library.

* * *

"Professor Burnet told me about a book," Lillie said, after getting both of the cousins to promise to help her find what she was looking for. "It's a book on old legends, and some of them say that Alola's legendary Pokémon came from another world."

"The tapu?" Diana asked.

"No." It was Eli, not Lillie, who corrected her. Diana realized that she should have expected that. "Solgaleo and Lunala. A lion representing the sun and a bat representing the moon."

"A bat representing the moon?" Diana laughed. "That's the most goth thing I've ever heard."

She was immediately given the typical 'library shush,' and fell silent. The three climbed the stairs, none of them knowing what to look for. Luckily, somebody seemed to know.

She didn't look older than they were. She was, perhaps, younger, maybe even just ten years old. But her dress looked like she'd made it herself, her armband was gold-colored and very, very shiny...

Diana tore her eyes off the armband when she noticed something else. In this girl's hair was a Captain charm. She was important to the trials, and more importantly, she could get Diana a crystal.

The girl tapped a book in her arms to get their attention. "Would this be what you're looking for? It's called The Light of Alola. Figured that since your friend there made some noise when she heard about Lunala, I should help out to shut her up."

Diana groaned and hid her face in her hands. Eli grinned.

"I don't know who this girl is, but I like her," he announced. He sat down at the table with Lillie and the new girl. "What does the book say, Lillie?"

Lillie looked surprised, but cleared her throat and read aloud. "The empty sky broke asunder, a hole appearing where there had been none. A single beast appeared from within it: it was named the beast that calls the moon. The king of Alola bowed before it: the beast that stole all heavens' light. The island guardians fought against it, but in the end they lost the fight. Then did the beast that brings the dark cast its pall on the line of kings. So that the beast that had won mark the path for all finished things. Beast of sun and beast of moon. Through their union, they brought new life. A fragile heir in Alola born that island guardians would keep from strife. The ancient kings sang their thanks for Lunala with song of flute. Two tones rang across the altar - a perfect pair, even after mute."

Diana lifted her head. "That's what you were looking for?"

Mystery girl laughed again, ignoring Diana. "Aren't my dad's books great?"

Lillie frowned at the words, then looked up. "Your father? Isn't this book...very old?"

"It belonged to my dad," the girl repeated. "He got it from his dad, who got it from his. My ancestors were Alolan royalty, so we had a lot of cool stuff. I moved my dad's books here, so the Pokémon wouldn't get to them. I can tell you more old stories, if you like!"

"I'd like," Eli interrupted. Mystery girl turned to him, her smile as constant as Hau's. Eli bowed overdramatically. "Please, mysterious Alolan princess! I ask for myths involving humanoid creatures from another planet arriving on Melemele Island!"

Mystery girl's smile stopped. "Melemele aliens?"

"He thinks we're descended from aliens," Diana explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just...ignore him, please. He also thought my crush was an evil alien."

"I never said he was evil," Eli pointed out. "Assuming an alien is evil sounds like the setup of a 'just because someone's different doesn't mean they're bad' episode and we don't have time for that. What if our ancestors weren't from the same planet as his?"

"But wasn't him having a supernatural gift the entire reasoning for that theory?"

Eli's mouth opened, then closed. "You win this round," he muttered, before faceplanting onto the table as all three girls laughed.

Lillie changed the subject. "There's an Electric-type trial that can be reached by bus," she told them. "Rotom can find Route 10, right?"

Rotom buzzed in annoyance. "I have a map, don't I?"

Diana looked up at the girl. "Are you the Electric captain?"

It felt wrong as she said it. There wasn't any yellow on her. But, still, she didn't know her name. It might have been Stormy.

But her instinct was right, and the girl confirmed that she was not, in fact, the Electric captain. "My name is Acerola. Does that sound like the name of an Electric specialist to you?"

"Acerola," Eli repeated quietly. Diana noticed anyway. "Where can we find books on aliens?"

Acerola looked at him, then looked back at Diana. When Diana seemed interested in humoring the boy, Acerola's smile grew. "Follow me, then! I'm sure there's at least a science fiction section in here."

"Or science _fact,_" said Eli, and Acerola covered her mouth to hide the giggles.

* * *

While Lillie went and read everything there was about Solgaleo and Lunala, the others were kicked out of the science fiction section because the books were more oriented to grown-ups. They switched to the space section of the nonfiction books, and all three of them were reading anything they could get their hands on relating to other planets and other worlds. Diana in particular took notice of a report written by a guy in Sinnoh named Lucas, where he said that the legendary Pokémon Giratina took him and his friend to a world where trees grew upside down, gravity let them walk up walls, and humans could speak with Pokémon.

Worst of all, Professor Rowan_ approved _this. He knew Lucas, and favoritism took over common sense, apparently. That, or Rowan's mind was going in his old age.

Of course, they could have been telling the truth. But Giratina being an Ultra Beast? That was almost as ridiculous as Giratina being Satan.

Eli, meanwhile, was fascinated by everything in his section. There hadn't been any life recorded on other planets, but the multiverse theory was starting to make a lot of sense. Perhaps his ancestors were all human, after all, but humans from a world where people were born with supernatural abilities. Or maybe the X-Men actually happened in a parallel universe, and they were just mutants. Or maybe even the human version of Ultra Beasts.

The weird warmth that usually accompanied a fire was starting. He reached down to pet his Torracat before it could get too out of control, and Robbie's purrs calmed him, almost absorbing the fire from him before it could be released. Eli, meanwhile, thought over whatever he was feeling, trying to identify the trigger.

The internal fire died down before he could recognize anything but his near-constant state of fear and excitement, which triggered disappointment. He must have made a noise, because Acerola looked up from her own book to smile.

"Find anything?"

He smiled back, a little awkward. "I'm not sure yet."

"Don't worry, then." She gestured to the pile. "The library doesn't close for hours! We can find something for sure, and tomorrow, you and Diana can take the bus to her trial."

"You're still helping?"

This got a laugh. "I've got my Pokémon handling my other responsibilities. It's my day off, I can help whoever I want!"

Eli returned to his book, but not before he heard his cousin mutter "I ship it." He made a face at her, but she was already deep in her current material, not even noticing him.

_Whatever,_ he decided._ At least I'm not in the middle of a love triangle._

Somehow, that thought gave him a different warm feeling - the feeling of victory.


	31. Bus Stop Battles

**Team Skull just keeps getting dumber.**

As they agreed, they stayed in the library until it closed, and headed out for Route 10 the next day. Eli was put in charge of the battles, to catch up to Diana in experience. It turned out to be a lucky decision, because what he battled ended up being two wild Skarmory and a beauty's Steenee, which were all easily defeated with fire. The other trainers on the route didn't seem to notice them, until they got to the bus stop.

"What."

It wasn't Diana who said it, but Rotom, as the humans were too busy staring in shock, confusion, and secondhand shame. Two Team Skull grunts were attacking the bus stop sign. One of them turned to the kids, silently challenging them.

"What, you kids never seen someone aggressively dance at a bus stop before?"

The heroic trio spent a brief moment in silence. "Can't say I have," Diana said after finding her voice.

"Don't think anyone has without drugs," Rotom added.

"It looks stupid," Eli finished.

The grunt pointed accusingly at the sign, which his partner was still aggressively dancing at. "The sign started it!"

"I'm sure it did." Diana spoke with her placating voice, the one she used when humoring Eli's alien delusions. "But they moved the bus stop to right outside Malie City. We're here because we saw movement up here and thought it was a rare Pokémon."

"We'd get that rare Pokémon first," said the dancing grunt, as if he believed it.

"We just wanted to end the 9:15 bus forever!" the other grunt explained.

This was making less sense the longer it went on. "Any particular reason you chose the 9:15 bus?" Diana asked, trying very hard not to get interested in the logic behind Team Skull's decision.

"Don't ask follow-up questions!" Rotom hissed.

"It's not like it matters," Eli reminded her.

"Does anything matter?" The grunt pulled out a ball, glaring at the kids. "And for making me have an existential crisis, I'm gonna have to defeat you here!"

Eli looked to Diana hopefully. Diana shook her head. "You're the one who said it doesn't matter," she pointed out. "This is your fight."

The grunts sent out one Pokémon each. Eli looked back at his cousin, annoyed.

"Help now?"

Fine, then. She'd do it, but she wouldn't be happy about it. "Stanford, let's go!"

"Salandit, your turn!"

* * *

Salandit evolved, which was good. She did not immediately release a pheromone to control the Skull grunts to leave, or to make her the boss of Eli instead of the other way around, which made Diana very disappointed.

Eli was not impressed. "Do you seriously want me to be controlled by my own lizard?"

"Um..." Diana could answer yes or a no, but both would be a lie. It was a hard choice. "Not you in particular," she finally said, "but the Pokedex says she can, and I want to see _someone _get controlled by your lizard."

"Have her control Rotom, then."

"Rotom's genderless and only uses male pronouns for convenience."

Rotom looked down at Salazzle, who seemed slightly disappointed that she couldn't be of any use to science. "Sorry, baby. I'm off the market."

Salazzle rolled her eyes.

While this conversation was going on, the grunts were panicking. A boy and a girl traveling together...were these the kids that Plumeria and Gladion had encountered? The ones who beat their honorary big sister_ and_ their top enforcer?

"We're dead," said one grunt.

"Not if we beat it now," said the other, and they ran off like the cowards they were.

With the grunts gone, the kids took the 9:15 bus after all. At the top of Mount Hokulani, they met up with Professor Kukui once again, once more not wearing his mask. Before Diana could think of something sarcastic to say about that, he asked a question of his own.

"How do you like mountains, Diana?"

"Mountains?" She looked at Eli to make sure he'd heard the same thing she did, and he shrugged, just as confused. "They're ok, I guess. I've never been to one before."

Kukui laughed, but there was something different about it this time. It was almost like he was holding something back. "I can see that. What about Pokémon Leagues?"

"Alola has a League now?" This was interesting.

Kukui looked over a railing, and the kids followed. "Mount Hokulani is the second tallest mountain in Alola," he told them. "The first tallest mountain is Mount Lanakila…the closest you can get to the Legendary Pokémon of Alola. And right on that mountain is where I'll establish our Pokémon League!"

Diana sighed. "With yourself as the Champion, I'm guessing?"

"Nah." Kukui shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. "I've got too much to do at the lab."

"The Masked Royal, then?"

"Actually, I've got two contestants to choose between. I'm just waiting for them to get there."

Diana looked out at the other mountain again. She could see the vague outline of a building. She had to admit, her new home being at least a little more like her old home appealed to her.

"I've always valued the old traditions of Alola," Kukui continued, "but I'm tired of being the only region that doesn't have a League or a Champion. We'll use the Island Challenge instead of the traditional quest, and I'll ask the kahunas to be the Elite Four, but our Champion will be legendary!"

The excitement of an Alola League disappeared, and Diana's mouth twisted in disappointment. "The kahunas? No, don't do that. Use people that the challengers haven't seen, at least until this League gets well-known enough to have TV specials. Not knowing what you're up against is half the fun of having an Elite Four in the first place."

"Well, I'll write their contracts for a year. After that, it's the Champion's call." He turned to face the building. "But enough about that! Right over there is a trial, so you should go and get another Z-Crystal, yeah?"

He had a point there.

* * *

After a trip to the Pokémon Center, they headed right to the Hokulani Observatory, Kukui with them. There was a tall man blocking the doorway, and Kukui seemed to know him.

"Kids, let me introduce you to Molayne. He runs the observatory, and the PC boxes, and was once the Hokulani captain. Molayne, I'd like you to meet Diana Freeman and Eli Frost."

"The scientist and the arsonist," Molayne said, and Eli smiled awkwardly.

"Getting better," he promised.

"You know us?" Diana asked, surprised.

"I don't think there's anyone in Alola who hasn't heard of you. You won two trials with your starter Pokémon alone, after all." Molayne's smile wasn't awkward, and Diana wondered what he had in common with the current captain. "Thank you for coming, but Captain Sophocles is a very busy guy. He has so many projects going, I don't even know how he trains. So, which of you is taking the Trial?"

Diana raised her hand, as if she didn't know he knew the answer to his question. "Me."

"Then I'll test you to see if you're ready for his Trial!"

Molayne's first Pokémon was a Skarmory. Diana suddenly wished that she had borrowed one of Eli's Pokémon for this battle.

Too late now. "Poliwhirl, let's go!"

* * *

Thanks to frequent use of Hypnosis, Poliwhirl defeated Skarmory by himself. The Metang was different – Diana had to use Murkrow for it. Three Night Shade attacks and Metang went down, but the Dugtrio took Murkrow out of the battle. Stufful finished the battle in Diana's favor, though, and quickly took on a glow of success.

The glow of evolution, to be more specific.

"That's a Bewear," Rotom explained as the freshly-evolved Pokémon stared at her now-massive paws. "It says that a Bewear will hug its companions, but doesn't know its own strength. Trainers have even left this world after their spines were squashed by the hugs."

Bewear made a little humming sound, then turned back to Diana. She reached for her Trainer, mouth open in excitement. Diana lifted her arms to hug back, her own face mirroring Bewear's expression. Then Bewear hugged Diana so hard that the girl was lifted off the ground.

"Myth busted," Diana said after a moment.

"It wasn't really an experiment, though," Eli pointed out. "Rotom might have given her a warning when he read off the entry."

"Good point." Diana thought it over. "Put me down, Bewear. We have to find a second Bewear and then try to…"

"No!" Eli, Rotom, Kukui, and Molayne all said together. Bewear followed Diana's order, but looked just as disappointed as Diana did at the forbidden science.

"Fine." Diana crossed her arms and pouted slightly. "It's like you guys don't care about science at all."

"We care about you not dying," Kukui told her.

**"I care about her not dying," **Bewear snapped, **"but I also care that my species is suffering from a harmful stereotype!"**

"We'll give a mannequin to a wild Bewear later," Rotom promised. "We have a trial right now, remember?"


	32. Sparks Fly

**Diana is developing a reputation. Given her destiny, it isn't surprising.**

Inside the observatory was a dream come true for Diana. The walls lit up, giving it a sci-fi feel that made her more excited the longer she looked at it.

"Space," she heard Eli say quietly, and she reluctantly tore her gaze away from the wall to watch him.

"It's an observatory, Eli. They're made for space."

"I want to go to space," Eli said, not sure how else to put it.

"I'm sure you do. But we're here to get me a shiny thing, not to get you some more ammunition for your theories."

That seemed to bring down her cousin's excitement, just a bit. "Yeah, ok," he said quickly. "The captain should be around here somewhere, right? The sooner we find him, the sooner we can do what needs to be done."

Diana nodded. "Exactly. Let's try not to make this adventure any longer than it has to be." Though now that she knew what Kukui was planning to do, she could see this going on for a long time yet.

They found the captain quickly. He was waiting behind a brightly-colored door. And he was a little nervous about this battle, apparently.

"So you're Diana?"

She nodded. "You're Sophocles?"

He confirmed it. "I've seen you on the internet. My trial's going to be a little different than the ones you've been through. You have to call the Totem Pokémon yourself."

"Is that really any different from Mallow's trial?"

Sophocles smiled a little. "Kind of," he admitted. "But this time, I whipped up a device to call the Totem here. You get to be the test subject. Molayne told me that you were Professor Kukui's assistant."

"I was going to be." Strange. She didn't feel jealous anymore. Perhaps it was because she was growing as a person, preparing to be a scientist on her own. Or maybe it was the promise of working with Colress. "How does it work?"

"As you know, there are some sounds that people can't hear, but Pokémon can hear just fine." Diana nodded. "And you know that here at the observatory, we combine sound and space science."

"We did not know that," said Eli, but Diana put a finger to her lips and he shut up.

Sophocles ignored him. "So I decided to use some sounds here from our planet to summon the Totem."

Just as he finished speaking, the power went out. A sharp sound indicated that the door had closed. There was a sudden bright light as Eli sent out Growlithe, who proceeded to use his fire to light up the room for them.

"Use a candle, dude," Sophocles said calmly.

"Like I have candles," Eli snapped back. "Was I supposed to just expect this to happen?"

Sophocles reached into a drawer and pulled out some candles and holders. Eli and Growlithe both looked ashamed, and put out the fires before they could do serious damage.

Sophocles turned back to Diana. "You can open the doors by passing an audio quiz," he told her, and she sensed that this was her trial. "The Totem Pokémon is coming."

* * *

During the quiz, Stanford evolved once again. Rotom's screen provided more light for the kids to see, and brought up the entry on the new form immediately.

"Decidueye is cool and cautious, but prone to panic," Rotom read. "But more importantly, Stanford just lost his Flying type, and picked up Ghost instead!"

"That'll come in handy." Diana grinned. She could face Electric-types now, though the Bug-type weakness was still there. That could be a problem for the trial if things kept going like they were.

"And he wants your permission to switch Leafage for the signature move Spirit Shackle."

Diana looked over at her starter for confirmation. Stanford nodded. "Do it," she told him. "It's a signature move for a reason, right?"

**"Probably," **Stanford agreed.

Then the door opened, the lights came on, and the Totem Vikavolt arrived. The battle began immediately.

And for the third time, Stanford won a trial all by himself. Rotom snickered to himself as he uploaded the proof again.

That Decidueye was going to be almost invincible. And Diana's skills as a trainer were going to be _legendary._

* * *

"Good work, Sophocles!" Molayne was applauding despite his friend's loss, having seen everything firsthand. "And congratulations, Diana! The battle was awesome, and the experiment was a success. Well done!"

"It was awesome, wasn't it?" Sophocles laughed as he pulled the Electrium-Z out from another drawer. "_She's_ awesome! I don't think anyone can take that Decidueye down!"

Diana hid an arrogant smirk as she brushed down her skirt. "I know it." She held up her hand for her Decidueye to high-five, and he did so with his feathered 'hands.' "We're on our way to take on the world, and nothing can stop us!"

"She's getting so confident," Eli said to himself. "The real world is gonna eat her alive."

Diana turned her head just long enough to stick out her tongue at him, and returned to taking her prize from the Captain.

Sophocles noticed, but he didn't seem to mind. "You've won the Electrium-Z, Diana." He demonstrated the funny dance associated with the Electric Z-Move. Then he groaned. "Sorry. I'm just so nervous…"

"You did fine, cousin," Molayne reassured him. Then he looked back to Diana, and answered the question her facial expression was asking. "It's usually the kahuna who appoints the captains. But here on Ula'ula…" he shook his head. "Anyway, I got too old for the job, so I named Sophocles here the captain instead."

"Too old?" Diana repeated. There was an age limit to the job?

Molayne shook his head. "Not important." He handed Diana another Z-Crystal, and then he demonstrated the dance. "That's the Steelium-Z. And this…" He pulled something else from his jacket pocket and gave it to her. "Is Professor Kukui's. He said he's going back to Malie Garden. Can you take it to him?"

It was the Masked Royal's mask. Eli and Diana shared an exasperated look. Then Diana held it out to her cousin.

"Burn it," she ordered.

"How?"

"Touch it," she hissed. "You're _Eli Frost_."

Acknowledging her point, he reached out for it, but Molayne stepped between them.

"Don't destroy it. It doesn't protect his identity, but it does protect his ego." He smiled half-heartedly. "Pretend you don't know, ok? Let him have this."

Which was exactly what the professor's own wife had said. "Fine," Diana sighed as she put the mask in her bag. "But you owe us for this."


	33. It's Your Boy Guzma

**In which several important events get covered at once.**

They got back to Malie Garden at sunset. Professor Kukui was there, with two Team Skull grunts.

"Not again," Diana muttered.

The grunts didn't notice the new arrivals, and neither did the crowd that had gathered to see the professor stomp Team Skull with his tiny Rockruff.

"You got rocks in your skull?" one grunt asked. "What are you thinking, making a Pokémon League in Alola?"

Kukui held up four fingers. "Four turns," he said. "I've dedicated myself to researching Pokémon moves. I can defeat you both in just four turns. Let's have a Battle Royal, right here!"

"Let's let them," Diana agreed.

But then someone else arrived. "Let's not."

He sounded like he had authority. Diana wasn't sure how much authority, but she was very aware of the Team Skull symbol on his neck, catching the light.

This must have been the boss, then. Not even Plumeria had worn gold.

The boss was taller than the professor, even when slouching. He either had natural dark circles, two blacked eyes, or he wore makeup to make himself look more intimidating. And, like his minions, he did not seem to notice Eli and Diana.

The crowd seemed to recognize him, as they all hushed. The Skull boss seemed to like that. "That's right," he said, sounding just like a heel wrestler getting the crowd to riot. "The hated boss that beats you down and never lets up…Big bad Guzma is here!"

Diana smiled slightly. "I hate this man on principle," she whispered to her cousin, "but you have to admit, he's fun to watch."

"Agreed," Eli said instantly.

Guzma wasn't done. Diana was pleased. He raised an arm, another mockery of wrestling matches on TV, and gestured to the professor. "In this corner, Professor Kukui! And in this corner…" he didn't gesture to himself, but he did straighten up a bit, adding more intimidation points. "In this corner, the boss of Team Skull and the hardest guy around. Two rejects who could never become captains. All these old traditions in Alola…kahunas, captains, tribute battles to creatures who don't care about us puny humans…I get why you want to ditch everything. But we've got no need for a Pokémon League. So point me in the direction of your chosen Champion and I'll show them what a tough trainer really is!"

Kukui shook his head. "We weren't meant to be captains, Guzma. I found what I was looking for when I searched for the moves to beat Hala. You need to find something better for yourself, too." Kukui turned around, and was not surprised to see the kids standing there. "You two don't need to be captains, do you?"

"Not really," Diana said with a shrug.

"Hala wouldn't let me if I wanted to," Eli added.

Guzma approached the kids, noticing Diana's amulet and the fact that her cousin didn't have one. "You're on the island challenge, huh?"

"This is Diana," Kukui confirmed. "She's one of my assistants, currently out on a field research mission to investigate rumors behind Pokedex entries, while taking the island challenge to get into new places. She and her Dartrix…"

"Decidueye," Diana interrupted helpfully.

"Decidueye," Kukui corrected himself without missing a beat, "have completed two trials…"

"Three."

"Three trials with not even her other Pokémon backing them up." He wasn't even surprised. "If you think you're the strongest trainer in the region, Guzma, why don't you battle her? I'm sure she's stronger than even me."

Guzma pointedly looked at Diana's Z-Ring. "Big deal. I'll bet she used those fancy Z-Moves. Why even bother with the island challenge?"

"Because I like sparkly things," Diana pointed out. "And if passing trials gets me more sparkly things, why not?"

Guzma paused at that, seeming almost impressed. Then he laughed. "Ok, _Buttercup,_" he mocked, and Diana's teeth clenched at hearing Gladion's nickname for her coming from a man who made it sound less like an attempt to annoy and more like a swear word. "You want to see what destruction looks like? Here it is in human form – it's your boy Guzma!"

* * *

Guzma's first Pokémon was one that Diana had never seen before. He called it a Golisopod, and it almost took out Murkrow with a single powerful attack called First Impression. Diana used a Super Potion, which let Murkrow take the Razor Shell and use Wing Attack.

Then, when it started to look weak, Golisopod switched itself out for an Ariados.

"What?" Diana was angry, now. "What was that?"

"That," said Guzma, "was Golisopod's Ability – Emergency Exit. You call yourself a scientist?"

That just made her angrier. "Wing Attack," she said through her teeth.

Murkrow proceeded to one-hit KO Ariados, bringing Golisopod back out. Diana switched, too, and Stanford used Spirit Shackle to finish it.

Guzma was not a graceful loser. He screamed at himself, he screamed at his bugs, and he screamed at Diana and the professor. He only stopped screaming when the leg of his pants caught fire, and he saw Eli's eyes closed in concentration.

Guzma casually shook the flames off. "Let me guess. Eli Frost?"

Eli's eyes opened. "The one and only."

"Stop that."

And Guzma pushed his way through the crowd. The crowd that was applauding for Diana.

Professor Kukui tapped her on the shoulder before she could get a big head. "Those were some great moves," he told her. "And speaking of moves, now that Stanford is in his final form…" He gave Diana yet another Z-Crystal. "That's the Decidium-Z. Exclusive to Decidueye, and it can turn his Spirit Shackle into Sinister Arrow Raid."

Diana frowned. "But Spirit Shackle is a Ghost-type move. I don't know that dance yet."

"I'm sure you will."

Eli cleared his throat, alerting them to the fact that the crowd was gone. "Professor, Molayne told us to give you something. You…uh. The Masked Royal left this behind at the observatory. You can give it back to him, right?"

Diana held up the mask. Kukui paled slightly at the sight of it, and quickly stuffed it into his lab coat pocket. "Of course I can. He'll be glad to see it again."

And he shuffled off. Diana turned to her cousin, annoyed.

"You actually referred to the Masked Royal like he was a different person?"

"His wife told us to let him have this," he reminded her.

Oh. Right. "And you controlled the fire that sent Guzma scurrying away?"

"Kind of." He grinned. "I couldn't control where it went, but I didn't want him to hurt you or the professor. I just wished for a distraction. Maybe that's the trigger."

"A subconscious manipulation of reality." Diana hummed in thought. "It's kind of similar to what Mom can do. Definitely like Grandma's gift. Maybe Aunt Stella _makes _the weather obey her, not just senses it…" Diana held out her hand to study it. Despite being in the sun in a tropical region, she was as pale as ever. It was like the sun had never touched her. Then she looked back to her cousin, who was also unaffected. Then she matched his smile. "Well, then. We found it. Now it's my turn to figure myself out – my _ability_ is nothing compared to the _power _that comes from my Pokémon. The strongest Trainer in the world, and her pyrokinetic partner in crime…sounds fun, doesn't it?"

The sound of Lillie's laughter distracted them both. Acerola was still with her, and she immediately jumped into the conversation.

"Did you find the planet your ancestors came from?" Acerola asked, and Diana cut Eli off before he could speak.

"No, but I did get the Electrium-Z from Sophocles!" She opened her Z-Crystal pouch to show them, and couldn't help the laugh of her own as she saw the ones Molayne and Kukui had given her, too. "And some others. It's been a busy day."

"Good for you!" Acerola poked Diana's bag, where she knew Rotom was hiding. "Team Skull's gone now, Rotom," she pointed out. "You can take them to the next trial up past Route 11. It's close to Tapu Village."

Tapu Village. Rotom marked the map, but didn't come out of the bag, even as he spoke to Acerola through it. "And what type is the Totem?"

"I'm not telling!" Acerola giggled. "All right, Lillie! Time for shopping!"

"I already went to the boutique," Lillie protested.

"Not the boutique! I want to make another dress, and I can make one for you, too!"

Lillie and Diana both looked at the dress Acerola was wearing. It looked like it was barely held together. "I'd rather not," Lillie tried to say, but Acerola got behind her and pushed her along.

"Nuh-uh! I just spent an entire day and a half in the library helping you! We're going to be even before I even _think_ of letting you go!"

"Help," Lillie whimpered, but neither of the cousins bothered.

"She'll be fine," said Eli. "Unless they get arrested."

* * *

Route 11 was boring, but there was a Pokémon called Komala, which, according to Rotom, spent its entire life asleep. This was an exciting development, but Diana didn't want to waste any time catching and breeding one just yet. But the woman at the barricade said that the next one was a Ghost-type trial, so she did get some useful information.

Route 12 was another story. The path was littered with rocks, and they had to rely on the sudden, convenient appearance of Hapu to help them.

"If you're going to travel around Ula'ula, you should do it on a Mudsdale," was the answer given when they asked why she was there. "I should've put Mudsdale on your Ride Pager when we last met, but I was just so distracted by Lillie and how lovely she was that it slipped my mind."

"We've all been there," Diana reassured her, thinking back to when she herself was distracted by Olivia. And Lillie, too, come to think of it. And Gladion. And _especially _Ilima...

She groaned again. Why was everyone in Alola stupidly attractive except her?

"It's a straight shot to Tapu Village," Hapu said, distracting Diana from her thoughts. "I'll be cheering you on in your island challenge!"

Diana looked back at the rocks and frowned, even as Hapu left. She looked down at her clothes. She didn't have the shoes to walk across such sharp rocks...but changing into her riding gear outside was just stupid.

Oh, well. "I guess it's a good thing that my skirt has hidden shorts," she said to herself. Then she poked her bag. "Well, Rotom? I've never ridden a Mudsdale before, and the Taurus and Stoutland went easy on me. Pull up the camera and get my failure to handle bumps, ok?"

* * *

When they got to Route 13, Hau was there. So was Gladion.

For once, Gladion did not try to be insulting. Instead, his visible eye - such a pretty green - moved from one face to another, before he settled on Diana and spoke.

"Team Skull is looking for a Pokémon called Cosmog," he said. "Do any of you know anything?"

Hau smirked. "I know 2 and 2 make 4."

"I know how to start fires," Eli added.

"I almost learned what lava felt like once," Diana said, glaring at her bag when she remembered that Rotom had stopped her.

"So more than I thought you knew," Gladion summarized. "Don't worry. Cosmog isn't even a strong Pokémon. But it has the potential to summon Pokémon much stronger than itself. If something like that happened, it would be a disaster for all of Alola."

"And Team Skull wants to cause that disaster to make people take them seriously?" Diana asked. "Is that why they hired you?"

"I want to _prevent_ that disaster, Buttercup, not cause it. If you know where Cosmog is, keep it safe." He looked away from them as his glare faded, turning to...suspicion? "I don't know how they found out about Cosmog in the first place...it couldn't be..."

Then he ran off, back the way the Melemele kids had come from.

"That really wasn't much of an explanation!" Hau called after him. He swallowed, and Diana noticed that he was shaking. Was he cold? Scared? The look on his face told her it was the latter. "If Team Skull is looking for Cosmog...is Lillie going to be ok?"

"Um..." She didn't know how to answer that. "I'm sure we can protect her while we protect Cosmog. I like Lillie. Eli likes Lillie. You like Lillie..."

Hau cleared his throat nervously. Eli's eyes lit up.

"You _like _Lillie, don't you?" he asked, his voice implying something much stronger than like.

"She's...ok." Hau looked embarrassed, though. That answered every question. "We should just take on the next trial to get stronger, right, Diana? That way we can protect them both!"

She smiled happily. "Are you ready to fight ghosts, Hau?"

"You bet!" Hau's fear left, and he was back to being the ball of energy they remembered. "I'm gonna fight a ghost, and everything that comes after! Tapu Koko will recognize my strength, and someday I'll be Melemele's kahuna! We can be real champions, Diana!"

And the cousins realized that he probably could. Was he one of the potential League Champions that Kukui was talking about?

Was Diana the other one?

* * *

When they got to Tapu Village, Hau was already there, talking to construction workers. They confirmed that they were putting the finishing touches on the League building up on Mount Lanakila, and Diana was just as excited as Hau. After all, one of them might be the first-ever Champion of Alola, and even if they weren't, they could still defeat the first-ever Champion of Alola.

He also told them that the captain was located in the Aether House. One quick trip to the Pokémon Center (and a cup of Tapu Cocoa) later, and the kids were on their way, to what was most likely Acerola's trial. Things were going great.

Then Eli surprised them all.

The Vulpix in his arms, freed from her recent ball, was not orange and brown like the ones Diana remembered. It wasn't even gold, like the shinies. Eli's confident smile brought one from his new catch, too.

"Told you I wasn't going to be a Fire-type specialist," he said mockingly, looking over at Rotom in particular.

"It's still related to Fire-types, though," said Rotom.

"Buzz off."

Diana looked at Rotom curiously, and he explained. "Alolan Vulpix is an Ice-type. Not Fire/Ice, though that would be awesome, but pure Ice. Pokedex entries say that its breath can get up to -58 Fahrenheit."

Diana got that 'experimental' look on her face again. "One way to find out." She stood in front of Eli and Vulpix, arms spread wide. "Hit me, Vulpix! I won't feel a thing, promise!"

"So how will you know?" Rotom asked, and Diana lowered her arms.

"Ok," she said, this time much calmer about her experiment being rejected. "I'm sure the professor has something instead. But I'll keep that one in mind."

**"Is she for real?" **Vulpix asked, and Rotom groaned.

"Unfortunately."

Vulpix shook her head, but allowed Eli to return her to the ball. Hopefully the boy wouldn't be a constant source of stress for her.

Poor thing.


	34. Too Far

**Stanford can't get Diana out of this one. Luckily, another friend of hers can.**

**This chapter contains another moment the editor might put on TV Tropes herself. Not as great as "Puppy!" but it's up there.**

Aether House was definitely under the Aether Foundation's control. The building was small, but it was the same white and gold color scheme that Lusamine was so fond of.

But unlike Aether Paradise, there were children running around. They challenged Eli and Diana to battle, and then tried to challenge Hau when he showed up. It was only Acerola's arrival that stopped the battles from happening, and she quickly explained that Diana and Hau were taking the trials.

"But what about him?" the little boy asked, pointing at Eli. "I see _their _amulets, but what about _his_?"

"He gets the same protection." She pointed at her captain's symbol. "My protection as captain!"

The kids stopped trying to challenge them immediately. Acerola smiled happily. "See? That's better!" She turned to the older kids. "My trial's down at the abandoned supermarket. I'll talk to these kids and tell them that they should only step in when people start causing trouble."

"They weren't that bad," Hau protested. "They were just trying to defend the place."

Diana, on the other hand, headed away from the crowd. She was fine with kids, but there was something shiny waiting for her. "Thanks for the directions, Acerola," she said, pushing the door open. "I think I'll just take Eli and..."

The words died as she saw what was going on. Lillie was facing a Team Skull grunt, all by herself. Cosmog was still in the bag, and the grunt was trying to convince Lillie that he had seen the bag move.

If Lillie had been a good liar, she could have easily talked her way out of this. But Lillie was not a good liar, and the grunt grabbed her arm to force his way into her bag.

"Kick him where it hurts, Lillie!" Diana called, and Lillie looked at her from the corner of her eye. The grunt, on the other hand, let go of Lillie and got up in Diana's face instead.

"So a trainer dashes forward to save the girl," he taunted, and Diana could smell his disgusting breath from behind the bandana. "You wanna fight, girl? Is that it?"

"I'd rather just take my friends and leave," Diana stated, but the grunt sent out his Drowzee before she could finish.

"I got this," Eli told Lillie, and closed his eyes again. He wished for a distraction.

Nothing happened. Diana sighed and tossed out a ball.

"Don't go easy, Lycanroc."

He most certainly did not.

* * *

Acerola and Hau arrived too late to do anything, but Acerola offered to let Lillie stay at Aether House, and Hau offered to stay with her. With that out of the way - and Eli playfully punching Hau's shoulder with an encouraging taunt - the cousins followed the captain down to the abandoned supermarket.

The supermarket didn't look like it had been abandoned for long. It was just barely starting to fall apart. Diana kind of heard when Acerola mentioned that she let the Totem handle the trial itself, but she was more focused on how to beat the trial.

Murkrow was the obvious choice. Night Shade only did damage based on the user's power level, but between Pursuit and Feint Attack...or maybe Lycanroc's Bite would be effective enough. Ghost was super-effective against itself, so Stanford probably shouldn't be involved...

Or Bewear. Bewear was part-Normal, making her immune to all Ghost-type attacks. She knew Brutal Swing, a Dark-type move. She was perfect for this.

This would be quick.

Acerola was waiting for them outside the building. "I guess I should explain how the trial works, then. You have to take a picture of the Totem, after which, it will battle you. The Totem likes to mess around, though, so you might have to take pictures of every strange or unusual thing that gets your attention. Also, Eli can't come."

"I'm used to that last one." Diana winked at her cousin. "I'm sure he'll be a lot happier out here with you."

Eli made a face at her behind the captain's back. Acerola didn't notice.

"I'll look after him for you, don't worry!" She pushed Diana closer to the building. "Now go and have fun!"

* * *

Diana was having fun.

It was just like her childhood - weird things happened, and then she'd find a Pokémon and play with it. It wasn't any different than playing tag with graveyard Gastly, or forcing the Haunter out of the building across from her school, or that time she had a tea party with a Hypno she found outside her bedroom window after that weird dream with the vampires on the Ferris wheel and...

She stopped in her tracks. Maybe she was a creepy child, after all.

She pushed that thought out of her head and kept walking. There had been a Gastly, a Haunter, a Gengar, and for some reason, an oddly pale Pikachu running across the building. Was Alolan Pikachu a Ghost-type? Hau's Raichu did float, after all, and it wasn't like she'd used a Normal or Fighting attack against it as Pikachu. That was what she was thinking as she chased the Pikachu into the back room.

The back room was smaller than she'd anticipated. She could easily imagine a claustrophobic person having a mental breakdown in here. And the decorations were terrible. Posters, magazine ads, newspaper articles. There was only a single image that made this collection make sense - Pikachu.

"Someone's obsessed," Diana observed to Rotom. She felt something watching her, but she ignored it to get a closer look at one of the articles. "This one's from twenty years ago! Why is it even part of the collection, it's clearly not the same Pikachu."

The thing behind her poked her in the leg with a cold, almost scaly hand.

"Not now," Diana told it, and the hand was removed from her leg. Diana looked back at the collection. "The totem needs to redecorate," she said, this time deliberately, even though she still refused to turn around. She'd known the Totem was there, of course, and had from before she felt it watching her. She'd heard enough campfire stories to recognize the trope. She still refused to turn around, out of defending her pride more than anything else.

The Totem disagreed. With the uncomfortable hands, it grabbed her ankle and pulled her down, and she finally turned her head in annoyance.

"You could have just asked, you know."

The Totem was not a Pikachu, but it was what Diana had been following. She understood why she'd been confused when she saw it run by when she was focused on the photography part of the trial. It wasn't a Pikachu, but it was dressed like one, and it had a scribbled-on face above a pair of tiny, beady eyes. These eyes were the ones that were looking at her in annoyance.

"It did," Rotom pointed out, distracting Diana from her opponent. "It's just that every time it speaks, nothing but a frosty breath comes out."

Diana looked back at the Totem. "What is it?"

Rotom pulled up the Pokedex entry as Diana picked herself off the floor. "That's a Mimikyu! It disguises itself as a Pikachu, partly to keep itself hidden from daylight, partly because it wants to be as popular as Pikachu is, and mostly because you could die of fright if you look at its true form, so do not touch it."

Diana looked at the Mimikyu, curiosity taking over once again. "I'm a grown woman. I can touch whatever I want."

"You're eleven," Rotom reminded her.

Mimikyu looked up at Rotom. **"Is she for real?"**

"I try," Rotom said with what came close to a facepalm. "So hard."

**"I refuse to be touched. Tell her to call her ****Pokémon**** and we will do this trial right, or I will leave and let her fail."**

Rotom nodded. "I'll say that in Diana." He turned around and jumped in front of the trainer before she could get down again. "Mimikyu says that if you touch it you don't get the shiny thing."

"Well, I can't let that happen." She selected her first Pokémon. "Ok, fellow freak of nature. Let's do this. Stanford, let's go!"

She made a mental note to catch a Mimikyu for further studies another time.

* * *

"...but I could only control it once. I tried again later, and nothing worked."

Acerola had made the mistake of asking why Eli was so infamous. What she'd got was a half-hour rant about his family tree, his theories about said family tree, and how he couldn't turn his 'gift' on or off at will. Acerola listened, watching as Eli got himself worked up about it, and thought it over.

"Maybe your wishing wasn't enough," she suggested when he left her an opening. "Maybe there's another trigger. Maybe...maybe fear is your trigger."

"Fear?"

"Yeah!" She bounced a little, sure she was on to something. "You have a history of setting things on fire, and a history of paranoia. Ever since you first picked up your Litten, you've gotten better at both, right? Then there's the only time you actually made the fire do what you wanted it to. You were scared that Guzma was going to do something to Diana and Professor Kukui."

"Don't tell them I'm sentimental." She smiled innocently. "But what about everything else?"

"Maybe you're living in a constant state of fear. What are you afraid of?"

Eli stopped ranting. What _was _he afraid of? "I'm afraid of lizard people," he said after a moment.

"You have a Salazzle."

"Yeah. I was terrified when I first saw her, but then she didn't brainwash me into doing her bidding like the rest of you saps, so she's cool."

"How do you know when..." She shook her head. "Not the point. What else?"

"Secret societies. Um...Ditto impersonating people and taking over their lives."

"Ok. Good start. But what is it, really?"

She was waiting for his answer. Eli didn't want to dig that deep into himself. It would be asking a lot of questions that he didn't want to...that he was afraid of answering. But Acerola was a kid, not a therapist. He could back out if things got too weird. "I...don't believe in it."

Huh. It was easier now, this time. "You don't believe in lizard people? We just discussed that you have a Salazzle."

"She's not _people-_people." He felt the heat that usually started the fire, and waved his hand in the hope to direct it. Nothing happened. "I used to believe. I still believe in some of it - how else does my family make any sense? We're descended from aliens, and you can't convince me otherwise. But I know the real odds for everything now, and I know I have my Pokémon to back me up if anything happens. I'm not as paranoid. And being paranoid has been half my identity for eleven years. If I'm not the paranoid nutbar, than what am I?"

Acerola could smell smoke now. Eli was too distressed to notice it. She also noticed that there was a Gengar listening in on their conversation, and it was inflating a paper bag. She decided to let it test her theory. "Are you sure you can take on _anything_, Eli? Anything is a lot of things."

"I have Diana and her team, too. Our mothers are sisters, but I think of her like we're the siblings. I know she feels the same. We're already close to unstoppable."

The Gengar prepared to pop the bag. Acerola pretended she didn't notice. "And between the two of you, you're sure that absolutely nothing can stand in your way?"

The smoke scent faded. "Positive."

The bag popped. True to Acerola's theory, Eli screamed like a girl, a nearby tree burst into flame, and a murder of Murkrow took to the skies. Eli tried to glare at the Gengar, but it was a lot harder to do when he was breathing heavily.

"You almost...made me die..."

"But we found it." Acerola smiled innocently and showed him the tree. "I was right. It's fear after all. Gengar, put out the tree, and then I'll buy both of you some snow cones."

"Forget the snow cones," Eli complained. "I need a security blanket!"

"I'll get you one of those, too."

* * *

It was the third hour of Diana facing the Mimikyu. It had taken out Stanford in two hits from Shadow Claw, and all he'd done in the meantime was break the neck of the Pikachu costume. Murkrow had gone down in one hit from Play Rough. Poliwhirl also failed, with two Play Rough attacks. She'd used too many Hyper Potions to keep Bewear in, and Brutal Swing had taken out both helper Pokémon in one hit, but constant use of Baby-Doll Eyes kept Play Rough from doing more damage.

Now she had one Hyper Potion, no Leppa Berries, and very limited attack power. And switching out now would just be leaving Lycanroc open to a free attack, and he would affected by anything.

"This is stupid," Diana grumbled, glaring down at Mimikyu. "Can't you just _pretend _to faint so I can get the sparkly thing and leave you alone forever?"

Mimikyu made a noise that Rotom didn't have to translate. Diana knew it was rejecting her offer.

"But I need to use the bathroom."

**"Hold it," **Mimikyu ordered. **"Battle comes first."**

Rotom did translate that. Diana was not amused.

"Bewear?"

Bewear heard her trainer's request from her tone. Before Mimikyu could process what was going on, Bewear had dropped down on top of it in a move that was not an attack.

Diana looked proud of herself and her Pokémon. That is, until Mimikyu made sounds of distress from under the weight of the giant pink teddy.

"Did I go too far?" she asked uncertainly.

"I don't know," Rotom said sarcastically. "Let's ask the Totem Pokémon! Hey, Mimikyu, did she go too far? Oh, that's right - it can't answer, because _you dropped a bear on it!"_

Mimikyu groaned in pain. This was not a battle-regulated Body Slam attack. Bewear didn't even know Body Slam. This was just doing the flop onto a Totem in the hope of freedom, sparkly things, and a bathroom break.

It couldn't wait for Rotom to finish the scolding. Mimikyu groaned and stuck out a hand, waving it in surrender. Diana called Bewear back immediately.

Mimikyu promptly disappeared, but not before Rotom took its picture.

* * *

When Diana left the abandoned supermarket, she immediately noticed her cousin wrapped up like a Swadloon and curled up under a very crispy tree, rocking and talking to himself. She almost asked.

"There she is!" Acerola cheered, getting Diana's attention away from the sight. "Your cousin and I had a great time out here, filled with fun, laughter, and character development! Did you beat the Totem in there?"

"Uh...sort of. I...negotiated with it."

Rotom glared. "Those negotiation terms should get you put in jail." But he showed Acerola the picture of Mimikyu, which let Diana have the Ghostium-Z, instructions on the dance, and the captain's permission to catch Pokémon in the trial site.

"You might want to talk to Mimikyu about its taste in decoration," Diana warned. "That back room was a stalker shrine. If it wants the true horror movie effect, it needs more missing person reports, less Pikachu."

Acerola frowned. "What back room?"

Eli looked between the two, and seeing that both of them appeared to be serious, he swallowed hard. He gripped Larvesta's ball in the hope that it would prevent another fire, but noticed the sparks on the ground anyway. "Let's talk about something else," he said, half-upset. "It's getting late. We should sleep."

"If we can," Rotom muttered, shivering in fear again.

Diana sighed. "I didn't know you were such a wuss, Rotom. But, yeah, going to a building sounds great."


	35. Night of the Dead Inside

**EDITOR'S NOTE: "There's no way Grimsley aged that much in two years, fight me."**

**EDITOR'S NOTE 2: "Don't actually fight me, I have the arm strength of a worm."**

He could almost reach her now.

She had no idea he was even here. This would be easy.

The door creaked open, and the girl in the bed twitched but rolled over. Good. He moved silently, hoping to complete his mission without being noticed...

The girl groaned and sat up, looking around in a daze. Drat. He tried to flatten himself to the ground, trying to avoid being seen, but that seemed to attract her gaze.

And he thought humans couldn't see in the dark.

"Hi," said the girl, her voice breaking the silence. "If you want a battle, it's going to have to wait. I just did two trials in two days _and_ kicked the butt of Team Skull's leader. I don't have time for you now."

Ok. So he'd been caught. He made a sound, hoping that the human girl could understand the point if not the words. She seemed to, if her slow, tired blink was an indication.

"We're leaving in the morning," she told him, and flopped back down on the bed. "Tell me then."

The Mimikyu didn't wait for an answer. It reached up and pulled the girl out of bed, before tossing the sandals she'd left in the corner at her and heading out the door.

Diana sighed and shook Eli awake, then unplugged Rotom. "We have a wake-up call, guys," she told them bluntly. "We have to follow the Mimikyu."

"The Totem?" Rotom asked, and Diana shrugged.

"Probably not. The Totem hates me, remember?"

"So what does it want?" Eli grumbled, reaching for his hat.

"I don't know." Diana looked down at the Mimikyu, who pulled a Great Ball from her bag and held it out to her. "Do you want to be mine?"

Mimikyu rolled the ball toward her. **"There's stuff we have to do first," **he said, and Rotom quickly translated, **"but I saw you squash the Totem. That was funny. I want to see more of it."**

"So you wish to be a criminal?" Rotom asked, and Diana laughed.

"What can I say? I admire its style."

So they followed this strange Pokémon, all the way to Aether House. Two Team Skull grunts were invading it, led by Plumeria herself. Hau and Acerola were there, but the 'big sister' of Team Skull focused only on Eli and Diana.

"I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon." Plumeria looked over at one of her 'brothers,' then the other. "It takes these dumb grunts way too long to deal with you kids. So it's you and me again, boy."

"Me?" Eli complained. "Why?"

"I need my revenge from earlier," Plumeria pointed out. "And I'm not holding anything back this time!" She tossed out a Pokeball. "Go, Golbat!"

Flying-type. Eli had something for this now. "Vulpix, it's your turn!"

Plumeria froze. "What? Since when did you have something that wasn't combustible?"

"Since I caught Vulpix." Eli stuck out his tongue to make a point. "Are we going to battle or not?"

* * *

Vulpix pulled a victory against Plumeria's Golbat, and Eli switched in his Salazzle to face hers. Hau and Acerola defeated the grunts, and Mimikyu made a rude gesture with its strange little hand from behind Diana's back.

Plumeria ignored it. "I see why my grunts have so much trouble with you and your friend," she admitted. "But if you want us to return the Pokémon, you'll have to come and get it. _Without _the captain or the kahuna's grandson."

"Return what Pokémon?" Acerola asked. Plumeria ignored her. Acerola responded by pushing past Team Skull, back into the building, and the other three followed her.

Lillie and the small children were fine. Cosmog, out of the bag, cheered when it saw Diana. The little girl ran right to Acerola, sobbing.

"Team Skull took my Yungoos!" she whined. "You're the captain! Bring it back!"

Acerola shook her head sadly. "Plumeria said that Eli had to go alone."

"No." Diana looked down at the Mimikyu, then up at her cousin. "She said that he had to go without you or Hau. She didn't leave me out." She smirked. "Guzma must want a rematch."

"But where does she want us to go?" Eli asked. "We don't know where Team Skull's base is!"

"But I do!" Acerola pointed to the window. "It's in that direction. Pretty much all of Po Town is their base. I could take you there, but she did say I shouldn't go, and the island's kahuna probably won't want to bother. But I met a man wearing a kimono on the beach yesterday. He can probably get you there, his Pokémon looked pretty strong."

A man in a kimono on a beach. "What if he's not there?" Diana asked. "It's like, super early."

Acerola sighed. "He reminds me of the kahuna. He'll be there."

Well, the sun was still down, and they did need something to get them through - tying a raft to a Decidueye's legs and having him fly to Po Town sounded like it would take too long, anyway.

Eli said it best: "Ok, let's go unaccompanied in the middle of the night and talk to strangers."

Diana nodded. "That's the spirit."

Before they left, Hau asked just one question. "Hey, Diana?"

"Yes?"

"What's with the Mimikyu following you?"

Diana looked down at the Mimikyu again, realizing that she'd been so distracted by watching her friends battle Team Skull that she'd forgotten to catch him, and he was still there. "He's my friend," she answered after a second.

Hau focused on Mimikyu, who was looking at Diana with something close to happy tears in its real eyes. "Ok," he said, and went to make sure Lillie and the kids were all right.

* * *

There was a man wearing a kimono on the beach after all. Mimikyu hopped right into the Great Ball with no challenge necessary, and Diana prepared for a full six-against-six battle with this guy for the information she needed.

When she got closer, however, she stopped. There was no way she could fight a man that looked that sick, no matter how strong his Pokémon were.

The kimono man had half-white hair despite likely being younger than Lusamine, and a face that told them that he hadn't slept properly in weeks. Still, Diana had to admit that his ice-blue eyes were still pretty, as if he were finally recovering. "Are you Pokedex carriers?" he asked, as if he were used to seeing such things.

"The girl is," Rotom announced, flying up to introduce himself. Kimono man barely seemed surprised. "The boy can't be trusted."

The man hid his face in his hand. Images of twin heroes and his Liepard betraying him for tummy rubs crossed his mind. "That sounds familiar," he said to himself. He looked through his fingers at Diana. "And you're taking the Gym...eh, Trial challenge, am I correct?"

Diana straightened up. "Tapu Koko told me to," she told him. "I'm a Chosen One, apparently."

"And I have superpowers," Eli added.

"A superhuman and a girl chosen by a local deity." Kimono man sounded skeptical. "Your life stories sound too unbelievable. Just some advice from Uncle Grimsley."

Diana rolled her eyes. "Ok, let's start over. I'm Diana Freeman, I wanted to investigate the urban legends of the Pokedex, and had no plans to get involved in the whole Trial thing until my island's kahuna and the region's professor signed me up without my consent."

"And I am Eli Frost," Eli said proudly, "the first human in Alolan history to set fire to water."

Grimsley finally dropped his intimidation technique. "That's...slightly better. Two Team Plasma attacks have taught me that life can be as strange as Shauntal's novels, but it's always best to not introduce yourselves with traits that would mark you as a protagonist. We wouldn't want the local Ghetsis to take advantage of that, would we?" Solid advice, actually, coming from a man who looked dead inside. He pulled a coin from his pocket. "Tell me, kids - if I flip this coin, will it land heads or tails?"

That was completely out of nowhere, but they could deal with it. "Neither," Eli said before Diana could make her guess. "There are two of us, and you asked both. A true gambler would have only picked one, since the other could just pick the other option and that way it guarantees us victory. Unless, of course, the one offering the bet is cheating. You're going to rig the coin toss."

Diana facepalmed. "That's the dumbest theory I've ever heard. If he's using a cheat coin, why would he ask us if we call heads or tails after showing us the coin?"

"Actually, he's completely right." Grimsley managed a tired smile. "I had indeed trained a Skarmory to steal the coin from the air. Smart boy."

Eli looked smug. "And you said it was stupid."

Diana threw her hands in the air in surrender. "Who knew there was more than one way to rig a coin toss?"

Grimsley ignored the conversation. "A loss is a loss. You two can borrow my Sharpedo to cross the water here. I've met the local kahuna, you're going to have to hunt him down. All you have to do is tie a raft to the Sharpedo and he can drag both of you." He looked them over again. "Though I recommend helmets. Sharpedo can crack through boulders, and likely will to get there faster."

"Wait. The kahuna's in Po Town?" The image of Guzma holding the kahuna title crossed Diana's mind, and she cringed. "It's not Team Skull's boss, right?"

"Of course not," Grimsley promised. "He doesn't have the motivation."

"So can you come and talk him into a battle with me?"

"Can't." Grimsley looked back at the water. "I promised myself I wouldn't get involved in any problems here in Alola until I fix my own problems. You're Pokedex kids. You'll be fine."

He flipped the coin just for fun, and a Skarmory swooped in to steal it. Grimsley watched it fly away, his mouth twisted in disappointment.

"Well, I'm never getting that back."

* * *

Finding Po Town wasn't particularly difficult. The rain made it a little harder than it needed to be, but fortunately, they bumped into Dexio and Sina again. The other lab assistants pointed Diana in the proper direction and gave her instructions for when she found the Zygarde pieces, and soon enough she was on her way back on track.

The 'track' was blocked by a Team Skull grunt, but Diana chased him off by threatening to remove her Mimikyu's sheet. They got to the walled area that had to be Po Town, and...

"Oh, crap," Diana groaned. "They know my name."

Eli looked up from watching his Vulpix freeze raindrops midair to look at the wall himself. "Surrendurr Freemun," he read out loud, putting extra emphasis on the misspelling. "Well, can't say their spelling skills come as a surprise."

Diana smiled a little, but there wasn't enough time to think of her own commentary, as a rough male voice came from behind them.

"So. Which one of you is Freeman?"

The cousins turned simultaneously, and found themselves face-to-face with a man who looked only in his fifties, but still like he was close to death.

"Zombie!" Eli screamed as a few sparks popped out of the rocks. Vulpix jumped in front of her trainer, shaking in fear but pawing at the ground in a threat.

The man didn't flinch. "I'm probably not a zombie. I just want Freeman." His tired eyes looked from one to the other, before settling on Diana, making the correct assumptions without even being told. "They've been waiting for you, girl."

"I've noticed." Diana gestured to the poorly-made graffiti.

The man looked surprised. "Huh. Their spelling's improved." He went back to the original conversation. "You sure you've thought this through? Po Town can be a dangerous place for a couple of kids like you."

"You don't know our history." Diana smiled innocently. "Our grandma tamed a Gyarados that wasn't hers. We've got her DNA, we'll be fine."

"You aren't your grandmother."

"But my cousin can start fires with his mind," she pointed out. "And I've got a Decidueye that won me three trials all by himself. We can take it."

"A Decidueye?" The man stared her down, but Diana barely blinked. Finally, one corner of his mouth twitched, as if he wanted to smile but had forgotten how. "All right. We can work with that. I'll make sure your bodies get back to your families."

He then opened the door for them, looked at Diana, muttered "Decidueye" again, and walked away.

Eli, understandably, panicked. "Wait. Did he say we could die in there?"

"He did." Diana smiled brightly. "Well? You coming or not?"

Eli looked down at Vulpix, more concerned than afraid. "We don't have a choice," he told her, and she made an irritated noise, preparing for the worst.


	36. Burning Memory

**This joke is 98% of the reason Eli has superpowers. The other 2% is because both cousins needed these abilities to survive Mount Lanakila's temperature in the clothing options available to players.**

Po Town was every bit the disaster they had expected it to be, with broken houses and graffiti. It was easy to get past the grunts operating the barricade, with a rather obvious path through the hedges and Vulpix to protect the rest of Eli's team from the rain. But when they found the truck parked in the middle of town, and a huge pile of wood, the cousins had very different thoughts.

"You can handle the grunt on the truck, right?" Eli asked, his eyes lighting up despite the lack of a fire.

"Easily," Diana answered immediately. "Why?"

"I have a plan." And he ran right to the wood, cackling. Diana stared blankly at him, shuddered, and turned her attention to Truck Grunt, who had, obviously, started yelling at the boy to stop touching the firewood, despite the so-called firewood being soaking wet.

"He's not Freeman," she told Truck Grunt. "I am. You can go after a firewood thief, or you can try to stop me. Neither outcome is good for you."

Truck Grunt did consider his options for a moment. Then he realized that there was no use in wet wood, and especially not when the boy seemed to arrange them into a new barricade, so he turned back to Diana. "You sure you can take us?"

"It hurts that you doubt me."

The grunt attempted to intimidate her, but backed down in three seconds. "I guess catching the legendary Freeman is better than catching a stupid thief child."

"It's not stealing if you're gonna keep it forever," Eli called over his shoulder before returning to work. Strangely, he didn't seem to be making a barricade, but a maze.

Diana didn't think it over too hard. "Mimikyu, let's go!"

* * *

By the time the battle ended, Truck Grunt was paying next to no attention as he looked over at Eli's hard work. "Really, kid?"

"Really," Eli confirmed as he put the last of his wood into place. "And you lost to Diana, so you don't get to fix it."

"That wasn't part of the deal!"

"Then I'll leave my Vulpix in charge." Vulpix nodded in support. "She's got this."

Vulpix proceeded to march like a tiny, four-legged soldier around her trainer's hard work. Even the grunt aww'd at it.

"Fine, it can stay," he said, "as long as that Vulpix keeps doing what she's doing." He aww'd again, and spoke in a baby-talk voice. "I'm no match for the cuteness!"

The grunt proceeded to sit down on the truck, and sat out in the rain to watch a fox do a soldier march. Diana pulled Eli away, and led him into an old mansion that wasn't _quite _as ruined as the rest of the town.

On the outside, at least. On the inside, furniture was everywhere, and papers were scattered around in an attempt to make the team look tougher than they really were. The cousins didn't even need to look at each other to know that they were thinking the same thing.

"I suggest we split up," Diana said, still not bothering to turn around. "We'll have a better chance at finding the Yungoos if we do it separately. We'll meet at the top of the stairs."

"Sounds good," Eli agreed. "You check the upstairs, I'll check the down."

Diana slipped past the grunt guarding the stairs without needing to fight, and Eli thought something over.

He had a Growlithe and a Fire Stone.

An Arcanine might be more useful...

* * *

Diana had almost wished she'd chosen purple and black on her shopping trip, but she seemed to blend in just as well in blue and white. She hadn't even been noticed by anyone, except for two female grunts who were arguing over a shirt and continued to argue over the shirt after defeat, instead of reporting an intruder.

She met with her cousin again after only twenty minutes, and he was flanked by an Arcanine and an Incineroar. "Find anything?"

"A piece of paper with a password on it," he answered immediately. He looked up at the freshly-evolved Incineroar. "And some grunts guarding the place, but Robbie took care of them."

"You should probably call them both back," Diana pointed out, and Eli did so, before they came to the grunt that was guarding a...window?

The grunt started talking before they could ask. "Hey! Are you kids part of Team Skull?"

"Who wants to know?" Diana shot back.

The grunt's eyes narrowed. "If you're part of Team Skull, then you'll know the three passwords."

"No problem," said Diana, though the number seemed to trigger mild panic in Eli. She was confident that they could answer anything.

"Question number one!" the grunt said, raising his voice in an attempt to intimidate. "What is Guzma's favorite move?"

Eli had found that one. "Beat Up."

"What's his favorite Pokémon?"

"Golisopod." Diana didn't even need a cheat sheet for that one.

"What's his favorite drink?"

She and Eli each looked at the other for the answer, and when they found that there was nothing between them, Diana gave up and answered with her own.

"Um...Tapu Cocoa?"

The grunt's eyes narrowed. "You sure about that?"

"We're never sure about anything," Eli said, his annoyance making him sound much older than eleven. "Just let us in."

The grunt looked him over, almost as if preparing to beat his face in, but then stepped aside. "The answer was supposed to be a hearty 'no,' but you gave us one better. You said the entire Team Skull motto."

"You openly declare..." Diana shook her head, knowing better than to finish the sentence.

"And you had the three passwords! You must not be Freeman after all." He stepped aside. "If you want to see the boss, you can take the path on the roof. Later!"

Diana took a step forward, then paused. "Wait. Did he say roof?"

The cold in her chest was back, though at a much more subdued level than the cold that accompanied Ultra Beasts. She'd never been afraid of heights, but the only heights she'd encountered were the Ferris wheels and roller coasters that had been carefully tested for the safety of the riders. She wasn't sure if she could handle slipping and dying, not when it wasn't in the middle of a forest and she couldn't (possibly) come back as a Phantump.

The large glass door behind the grunt blew open, revealing a half-destroyed balcony and spilling tiny hail pellets into the hallway. The grunt took a step back - he knew Freeman was around here somewhere, and that Frost was with her, and it would be just his luck for the girl to have ice powers to mirror Frost's fire. Eli briefly worried about Vulpix, but remembered in time that she was an Ice-type and most likely behind the hail in the first place.

Diana's brief moment of self-preservation was quickly forgotten, however, and she walked onto the balcony.

"Well, either I'm getting a little rush of insanity, or a lifetime supply." She cracked a smile, brushed some almost-melted ice pellets out of her hair, and hopped onto an unstable-looking board. "All right. I'm Batman."

Eli grabbed her wrist before she could take a step. "That's a great idea," he said sarcastically. "Maybe, once we finish crossing a plank bridge on a sloped rooftop in a hailstorm -"

"It's almost melted by the time it hits anything. We'll get minor cuts at most."

Eli ignored it. "Maybe we can juggle chainsaws, or take a bath with a toaster, or play in traffic..."

"I've actually always wanted to learn to juggle chainsaws," Diana said happily, pulling her wrist from his grip.

"Of course you have." Eli facepalmed as he accepted his fate.

She moved forward as he attempted to grab her wrist again, and stood for a moment, perched on the bridge, staring at him impatiently. Eli looked over the side of the balcony, looking for his Pokémon friend. Seeing his proud smile, Diana looked for her, too.

And then her mouth fell open. "Wow."

Eli hadn't used the wood to build a maze to keep Team Skull busy. He'd used it to write FROST AND FREEMAN KICK BUTT in letters so big she could see it from here. A little white lump, presumably Vulpix, marched around it, still taking her assignment seriously.

Eli laughed, a bit nervous but no less entertained. "Yes we do, Po Town. Thanks for noticing." But he wasn't done. His eyes were closed, and he was concentrating. He was terrified, about to follow his cousin to certain death by crossing a board to face Team Skull, completely at their mercy. But he was Stella Frost's son, and weather was in his blood, so if he combined the two facts...

The familiar heat crawled up to his face, but this time, it took its time. He opened his eyes and moved his arm to his face, then brought it down quickly in a karate chop, calling "SHAZAM!" as he did so.

Lightning flashed too close for comfort, setting the wood on fire and sending Truck Grunt falling off the truck and Vulpix screaming and running toward the building.

"Oops," Eli muttered, before calling Vulpix back into her ball as soon as she was close enough.

Rotom poked his head out of Diana's bag, and the first thing he saw was gigantic letters made of fire spelling out FROST AND FREEMAN KICK BUTT. "Today, Eli, I respect you."

The hail turned back into rain. Eli poked the Pokeball. "And I think Vulpix lost her respect for me."

"She'll come around," Diana promised.

"After she was so close to a lightning strike and a wildfire?" Rotom questioned.

"Well, she'll have to come out for food eventually."

Eli sighed. "I'm sorry, Vulpix. I just thought it would be really cool and hilarious."

"It was," Diana promised, "but we have to go and save a Yungoos now. We'll make her a feast later."

* * *

Guzma was waiting in the very back room, of course, and he had a grunt and the missing Yungoos with him. The room must have been his bedroom, as it had a throne and a bed and a pile of shiny crystals...

Murkrow's ball twitched. Diana patted it subconsciously. "I want them too," she whispered to him, "but we can't steal from him when he's watching."

Guzma laughed, apparently hearing her. "I don't really understand you, kid," he said. "It's not every day someone comes to me for a beating!"

Diana smiled pleasantly. "I'm here for the Yungoos," she told him. "If you could hand it over without a fight, that would be great."

"We're Team Skull, kid. We never do anything without a fight!"

Diana nodded. "I've noticed. Can I bribe you with some Tapu Cocoa? It's my favorite, too, and I'm trying to recreate the recipe." Well, she would try, once her parents arrived from Kanto and she could have test subjects other than her cousin and coworkers.

"Tempting, but no. Big bad Guzma's got a reputation. You wrecked it before, Freeman. Not again."

"Really?" Diana sighed in disappointment. "This whole thing was to get me dragged into a rematch?"

"It's a bit more complicated, but...yeah, sure." He sent out his Golisopod.

Diana looked back at Eli. "Put out your fire," she instructed. "This won't take long."

Then she sent out Stanford, and the battle began.

* * *

It was surprisingly difficult.

Stanford had triggered Golisopod's ability, and had defeated the Ariados that followed. But Golisopod's return took him out of the battle, and Mimikyu wasn't strong enough to take it down. But Bewear was, and that was how Diana and Guzma ended the battle with two Pokémon down each.

Guzma screamed again, this time knocking over a picture frame. But he turned to the grunt guarding the Yungoos, and snapped at him to return it. Eli took Yungoos outside to wait, and Diana turned to follow, but Guzma's voice stopped her.

"I'll beat you down one of these days," he said, "no matter whose help I have to get to do it."

"Gladion couldn't beat me without help from Hau _and_ the Masked Royal. You should consider just hiring stronger trainers."

Guzma didn't answer that, merely grunted before he pushed past her and left.

Rotom emerged from her bag. "Do you think we should stop him?"

Diana shrugged. "Eli's got Yungoos. Guzma's not my problem anymore."

She did snag a crystal from Guzma's treasure chest, however. It would have just been tossed into her bag to play with later, but something etched inside it caught both of them by surprise.

"A Buginium-Z?" Rotom asked, stunned.

Diana turned it over in her hands, biting her lip in thought. "Well," she said after a moment. "That puts Guzma on my list of study subjects. But for now, we'll just have to get back to the others. I hope Grimsley's Sharpedo is still out there."


	37. The Worst Thing

**Thank you, Gravity Falls. You're still a constant source of inspiration.**

Nanu was waiting for them outside the door, and he did not seem impressed. "I got a complaint about a fire in here."

He looked directly at Eli as he said it. Eli tried to play innocent, but he was too proud to pull it off. After all, he had successfully weaponized his fear and used it to unlock his true potential. "I put it out," he announced, though the rain had done most of the work.

"Good. Less work for me." The Yungoos chirped at Nanu's feet, and he looked back at Diana. "You're a trial-goer, aren't you, Freeman?"

"Call me Diana, please. Too many enemies have called me by my last name."

Nanu pretended she hadn't spoken. "Looks like there are fewer Team Skull folks around today. No wonder you and Frost kicked butt."

Rotom snickered from Diana's bag. Eli beamed with pride, and Diana herself smiled a little. Then Acerola showed up, and tripped over a letter in the little message.

She tucked into a perfect roll as she hit the ground, though, and flipped herself back into proper position before gravity could affect her dress too much. "Hey, Uncle Nanu!" she cheered as if nothing had happened. "I see you met my friends!"

"Uncle?" Eli repeated, genuinely surprised.

Diana laughed. "I think that _answers _a few questions, really."

Nanu closed his eyes in affectionate irritation. "Here comes the noise again." But he didn't object to the title.

Acerola picked Yungoos off the ground and smiled even brighter than before as she turned to her friends. "Thank you both so much! You really are the best, aren't you?"

"They kick butt," Rotom called through the bag. Diana laughed again and pushed forward.

"Well, I'm exhausted. Let's get back to the main island and figure out what to do from there, ok?"

* * *

Grimsley's Sharpedo was waiting for them, and the wind dried the rain off of them as Sharpedo zoomed through the water dragging the raft behind. They started back to Aether House, but Diana had a few questions for her cousin.

"So how did you do it? The fire writing. That should be impossible."

"I should be impossible." Eli shrugged. "You should be impossible. After talking to Acerola, I realized that my trigger is fear. Combining that with the fact that I'm my mom's son, I came to the conclusion that can alter the probability of a lightning strike in a certain area." He smiled. "So I tested it out on something awesome."

Diana smiled back. "It paid off. I only wish I could do that, but using Pokémon to start fires qualifies as arson."

"You don't even have a Fire-type."

"And that's another part of my reasoning."

She pushed open the door to Aether House just as Acerola returned. What they saw was a horrified Hau being screamed at by two children.

"You were supposed to protect her!" the girl was shouting.

"I couldn't stop a willing decision!" Hau shot back. "She told me to stay out of it...I thought I could..."

"What happened?" Acerola asked quickly.

Hau swallowed nervously and began his story. "That Team Skull lady with the pink hair. She showed up with a grunt, and said...I can't remember everything, but something about Lillie being a Pokémon thief?"

Eli hummed in consideration. "Pokémon thief. Nothing saying she didn't steal jewels, too."

Hau didn't notice. "And then Lillie and Cosmog went with her somewhere, and I asked where, and Lillie told me that it didn't matter." Tears dripped down his face, and he wiped them away impatiently.

"So that's what happened."

Diana looked away, surprised that she hadn't even noticed Gladion. He was angrier than she'd ever seen him, even when she'd jumped into the battle to pet his franken-dog without permission. He didn't even notice them.

"So Lillie took Cosmog," he said, through his teeth.

"You know Lillie?" Hau asked in surprise.

Realization hit Diana hard. Of course. No wonder they were both blond, green-eyed, and beautiful. They had to be _related. _She and Eli had a great deal of family resemblance, too, thanks to identical twins both marrying pale, black-haired men. She felt like an idiot for not noticing, but she had been blinded by their good looks at first and hadn't seen them together before.

Coming face-to-face with Gladion's Golbat dragged her off of that train of thought. "Wait, what? Are we battling?"

Gladion reached out as if to grab her, but grabbed onto his wrist with his other hand. "Are you serious? Were you not listening?"

"Not really, but I would think that our mutual concern for Lillie would override the battle instinct."

Now it was Gladion's turn to look surprised. "I...you have a point." It sounded like that was the biggest shock of his life. Then he wiped away the shock for anger to come right to the front again. "But I told you! I told you that Cosmog would bring disaster to Alola! And thanks to the Three Stooges splitting up, it's fallen right into their hands!"

"Gladion," Diana started, but he turned around to leave.

"I'll be at the ferry terminal. You're all coming with me."

"I'll get my Pokémon ready," Acerola started, but Gladion held out a hand.

"What can your Pokémon do? I've seen theirs. They're strong."

Acerola gave him a look of disbelief and vague smugness, but he was gone before he could notice.

Diana sighed. "Looks like we don't get a choice."

* * *

By the time the three Melemele kids arrived, Gladion was nowhere to be found. It was strange, considering that he'd made it clear that they were going to go and save Lillie whether they wanted to or not, but...

"Hey. Girl."

That was not Gladion's voice. Nanu was waiting for her there instead, his hands shoved in his pockets like he didn't care about her - which, to be honest, he probably didn't. "Nanu? What do you want?"

"Figured it's time for your Grand Trial."

"My friend was just kidnapped," Diana told him. Nanu blinked once, but did not show any other sign of surprise. "I think we can have our trial another time. And you're a cop! Shouldn't you be looking for her?"

Nanu didn't listen to the latter half of her protest. "Look, kid. I want to give you the crystal and get you off my island as much as you want to leave. But once a kahuna's chosen, they're forced to follow the Tapu's rules whether they want to or not. We have to have a Grand Trial before you can go."

"Sounds like someone needs to bring the Tapus out of their god complex."

Nanu smirked. "If you're offering, good luck." He picked a Pokeball. "We have to battle. Besides, your angry friend isn't here yet."

Well, if it was just to kill time until Gladion showed up...

"Let's get this over with, Murkrow!"

It was Bewear that won her the battle, her Hammer Arm attack supercharged by two of Nanu's Krokorok's Swagger moves. Nanu handed her the crystal and demonstrated the dance before getting the heck out of there. And the battle was so distracting that nobody even noticed that Gladion and Hau showed up until...

"Later, nerds!" Gladion's voice called.

They weren't going fast enough for him, so he took a jet ski instead. Understandable, mostly.

Still, Diana was more irritated than she should have been. "Gladion," she said quietly, "is _the worst._ And after that, I'm saying it to his face."

Eli kept his eyes on Gladion, too, but for an entirely different reason as his brain filled with images of Lillie in various torture devices. All of his focus was on one small point in his vision, and the payoff was worth it. The older boy saw smoke, jumped off the jet ski, and dove underwater seconds before the whole thing caught fire.

A ten-minute swim later, Gladion found them again. He was soggy and out of breath, but that only made him look more angry.

"I need your help," he finally said.

Diana wasted no time. "You're the worst," she told him, looking him right in the eyes.

Gladion didn't respond with words, but yanked her into the water with him with little more than a moment of gratitude for the shorts built into her skirt.

Diana spluttered and glared at him from a mess of soaked hair. "You know, you just proved my point."

"I never denied anything," Gladion pointed out.

"You were supposed to try to be a better person because of it."

"Life's not a Disney musical, Buttercup."

As if to prove him wrong, a Luvdisc of all things swam by them just then, singing.

**_"Can you feel the love tonight..."_**

Eli and Hau fell over laughing. Diana watched the Luvdisc leave, then turned to Gladion, anger forgotten.

"We're going to forget the mythical love fish, right?"

"What fish?" Gladion was already trying to write the memory of what had just happened out of his head. He glared at Eli, who had started singing the same song. "Can you forget your cousin ships us?"

"No, but I can do the next best thing."

And she pulled Eli into the water. Then, while she and Gladion were laughing, there was another splash as Hau jumped in.

"I just wanted to be included," he said when they all stared.

Diana, used to him by now, climbed back onto the dock. "Well, we've wasted enough time. Let's go get Lillie."

"But where did Team Skull take her?" Hau asked as he climbed back with her. "You and Eli were in Po Town the entire time, right?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gladion shook the water from his hair like a dog, then focused on the others. "They took her to Aether Paradise."

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"I always suspected Faba was a cartoonish supervillain," Diana said, and Gladion facepalmed.

He was either going to kill this girl, or he was beginning to like her.

* * *

Gladion stole Team Skull's boat to get them there, and pulling up into Aether Paradise's harbor without a problem proved there was some kind of connection. Gladion hadn't explained much of anything, so it was up to the other three to figure out what had happened and how to fix it.

"How are we even going to get in?" Hau asked, turning to Diana as if she'd planned anything before in her life.

Diana thought it over, then spotted a large box on a cart. She excitedly tapped Gladion's arm until he looked, and she announced her plan.

"Ok, here's what we'll do. Hau will hide in this box, while Eli and I pretend we're delivery people here to drop something off. Gladion, your role will be a spy, someone guiding us from the tops of the other giant crates." She nodded, confident. "It's foolproof!"

Gladion stared at her as if that were the dumbest thing he'd ever heard, but stopped himself from saying so. "As you wish," he said instead.

They were busted immediately. The cousins didn't look like a convincing delivery crew, Hau sneezed inside the box, and Gladion couldn't climb the crates and had decided to hide in the shadows like a stealth game protagonist, but thanks to Gladion being hidden, he could swoop in and save the others and leave the Foundantion employee tied up.

"Any other plans, Diana?" Hau asked sarcastically when his friends pulled him from the box.

"I'm good," she said quietly.

They all agreed to just follow Gladion from now on.


	38. Can't Stop the Freeman

**We might have binge watched a bit too much Freeman's Mind here. **

The four of them made it to the elevator, but Gladion couldn't get it to go down. When they realized that they would have to go up, it came to a decision.

"I don't want to," Eli said at once. "I want to get Lillie back, but the Aether Foundation does good things, despite what Lusamine did to her husband."

"Lusamine wasn't responsible for what happened to her husband." Gladion spoke as if he knew this for a fact. "She didn't lose her mind until after he was gone."

"I just want Lillie back," Hau decided. "We'll do whatever it takes. Even if it's going up against Faba."

The boys all turned to face Diana, as if she had the deciding vote. "That's probably why Kukui does...um, what he does. If you stay fit in an academic field, you can beat up most of your coworkers if you have to." She smiled happily. "I'd say Stanford at the very least is pretty fit, wouldn't you?"

With that as her confirmation, Gladion sent the elevator up. And, of course, who should be waiting for them but Aether's most famous scientist?

"I, Faba, am the Aether Branch Chief. I am the only one in the world. Irreplaceable."

_Kill me,_ Diana thought, wishing for nothing more than to send out her Bewear and power through the place, smashing what she can and setting Eli after what she couldn't.

Faba at least pretended to look surprised. "You come by uninvited?"

"Like you don't know why." Gladion seemed to share Diana's wish. Cool. They could trash the place together.

"Then you should know why I won't tell you anything." Faba's evil smirk was directly from cartoon supervillain school.

"Please!" Gladion slammed his fist into the side of the elevator. "Diana can do your job better than you, and she's the dumbest scientist I know."

Diana couldn't help but laugh. "Hey, you remembered my real name!"

"It's not like he'd recognize the nickname," Gladion pointed out.

Faba was focused on Diana too intently for her liking. "You _dare _call yourself a scientist? I don't see you with a PhD, little miss."

"What a coincidence! I don't think you have one, either." She smiled, far too innocently. "Well, Branch Chief Faba? Why don't we make a bet?" She pulled out Lycanroc's ball. "If I win this battle, you give me whatever diploma you have, and I'll have Professor Kukui send it to be analyzed."

"How about he just gives us permission to go downstairs?" Gladion suggested.

"How about both?"

"And if I win?" Faba leaned over her. "If I win, you give up science entirely. Forever."

Diana hesitated for only a fraction of a second. "Done."

She released her werewolf, and for the first time in her life, she performed a Z-Move. One Continental Crush and one Bite, and Faba's only Pokémon, a Hypno, was crashed on the ground.

Faba chose to send them downstairs. Diana's only comment on that was "I knew he didn't have a degree."

* * *

Things started looking up, at least for Diana, when Gladion sent her, Hau, and Eli to a room labeled "Secret Lab B." He was going to one, of course, and told her that she was forbidden from playing with the science equipment, but she still practically ran to the door he'd pointed out.

She took a minor break when she saw three Aether employees standing guard, but Eli promised to handle it. He chose Vulpix.

Vulpix chose to stay in her ball.

"Well," Eli said as all six of them stared at the ball on the ground. "That was...unexpected."

"Remember what happened in Po Town," Diana told him.

"What happened in Po Town?" Hau asked, but Diana pretended not to hear him.

"I don't think she liked being so close to lightning...or fire."

"Yeah, good point." Eli sighed in disappointment. Fire-type it was. "Robbie, you're up...and roll Vulpix back here while you're at it."

Having an Incineroar was good, but that left the other two approaching Diana and Hau. She felt herself tense in preparation for battle, and sent her Decidueye to deal with the Magneton. This time she chose Sinister Arrow Raid to deal with her opponent.

"You know," she said when Magneton was down and the tired Stanford brushed himself off, "I never thought I'd have so many enemies I'd need to make an actual list, but this is just too many to keep track of."

Hau smiled wider. "Hey, at least now we get to prove our strength."

And as his Primarina one-hit KO'd a Porygon2, Diana admitted that his battle skills were almost as awesome as hers.

* * *

Finding Secret Lab B was easy. Getting into it was harder.

"What do they even want with Cosmog, anyway?" Diana complained as she pressed random buttons on a keypad in an attempt to open the door. "All I've seen of it, it was cute but useless. It refused to listen to reason, jumped right into danger at every available opportunity..."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Eli interrupted, giving her a pointed glance. Hau nodded along.

Diana stopped short. Ok, so maybe she did let her curiosity override everything else, lack any self-preservation instinct beyond 'this death would be pointless,' and at times considered the potential for scientific discovery a higher priority than her own life. He didn't need to spell it out for her like that.

"At least I do things for reasons other than to be a pain," she finally said, before returning to the keypad. She bit her lip, considering, and typed in a code.

1-2-3-4-5.

The door opened. Diana facepalmed.

"As much as I want to claim that was because I'm a genius," she said through her hand, "it's more that somebody else is not."

Hau ran in before she could pull her hand off her face, and Diana followed him in for a double battle with the employees guarding the lab.

Meanwhile, Eli took the opportunity to slip past and look at the computer. And, when the employees left, he called his friends to show them his discoveries.

"Cosmog is hypothesized to be a kind of Ultra Beast that hails from another dimension," Eli read off, surprising them both. He himself had not been affected by this news. "When placed under sufficient stress, it reveals the power to create and open Ultra Wormholes in order to escape from its suffering. We're working on a device that will allow us to manipulate the wormholes."

"So Cosmog is an Ultra Beast?" Hau asked. "That's...honestly, I should have seen it coming."

"I know." Eli sounded disappointed in himself. "I was hoping that they have evidence that the one Gym Leader in Unova was a merman. I mean, Water-type specialty, refuses to wear a shirt..."

"Focus, Eli," Diana interrupted.

"Right." He gestured back to the computer. "I considered it as a possibility, but I brushed it off. That's...kind of a disappointment."

"Disappointment?" Hau repeated, but he shook his head. "Never mind. We'll deal with that later. We have to report back to Gladion!"

* * *

"...and then it said that if you stress Cosmog, it creates Ultra Wormholes," Hau finished explaining. "That's what the report said anyway."

"Stress..." Gladion repeated. "You mean hurt. That must be why Lillie stole it. Can't hold that against her."

"But they're not here," Hau added.

"Which is why Faba sent us down here. He knew it would be a dead end."

"So let's go find him again," Diana suggested. "I'm not looking forward to dealing with him, but seeing us again should at least cheese him off. And we have to save Lillie and Cosmog anyway, so why not make a grown man cry while we're at it?"

There was something odd about the way Gladion looked at her now. It was as if some of the respect he'd lost had finally come back. "Well said," he agreed. "Let's go."


	39. Ain't It Crazy?

**We usually have this part done by now, but it turns out Sun and Moon have a stupid amount of cutscenes. Who knew?**

**Anyway, after much debate over whether or not Guzma was really evil enough to have a villain song, we agreed that he was. So we sat down and wrote a parody of "Shiny" from Moana, because Guzma, too, is an antagonist that is not directly responsible for the plot. I know for a fact it turned out better than the trainwreck from our last story at least.**

One elevator ride later, and they were surrounded by employees. Hau took a step back, Gladion reached for Null's ball.

Diana had a different plan.

"Eli, use Flamethrower!"

Eli nodded and assumed a Firebending stance. "Stay back!" he ordered. "I'm the legendary Eli Frost! Fear is my trigger and I'm a big wuss!" Gladion made an unnatural sound, like laughter muted by clenched teeth. Eli didn't care. He just made a mental note to thank Acerola for her help...preferably by writing it in flames on the Aether House lawn.

"I'd prefer it if you didn't destroy my place of business, Mr. Frost."

The entire group, child and adult alike, grew nervous at Wicke's arrival, but fortunately, she seemed to only be after those connected to Aether. "Leave these kids alone," she ordered, "or you will be promptly demoted to _test subject."_

"I didn't know this place was Aperture Science," Eli muttered to Hau.

Hau just shrugged. "Do you really think anything good about this place anymore?"

Wicke's threat seemed to work, and the group scattered. When she was sure they were gone, she smiled, a little too forced to be relaxed, and turned to Gladion. "Young master. It's been a long time."

"And things went to crap in the meantime, I see." Gladion seemed to trust her, though, as much as he could trust anyone. "What happened to Lillie?"

Wicke's smile disappeared immediately. "I haven't seen her, but my guess would be that she's with the president."

"The president?" Hau repeated. "Ms. Lusamine? She seems nice, so I'm sure Lillie's almost ok."

Gladion's hand twitched again. "She _was_ nice," he admitted, "but then she went completely _nutso. _I'm not even sure she recognizes people as people anymore."

"And she's locked all the doors," Wicke continued.

"It won't stop me," Gladion announced. "I have the most destructive forces on the planet on my side - and their friend." Hau pouted, knowing that he was the extra friend. "I can get into any door."

"But you can't get past -" Wicke tried objecting, but Gladion was already gone, the other three following after.

Faba had arrived, and they were all out for revenge.

* * *

When they got past him and into the area with the house, they found Team Skull grunts everywhere. Gladion ran ahead, right up to Guzma himself, leaving the other three behind.

"There's gotta be a billion Team Skull thugs here," Hau said in surprise. "This means that the Aether Foundation really was working with Team Skull!"

"Can't say I'm surprised," said Eli. He picked up a Pokeball. "Well, time to destroy everything and save our friend. Diana?"

Diana nodded. "Poliwhirl, go pick a fight with a Skull grunt. This should kill ten minutes."

With each non-Gladion child taking on a grunt, it took even less than ten minutes. They raced up to witness the Gladion-vs.-Guzma battle, only to find that it had taken a very odd turn. And it wasn't that Golisopod was standing over a downed Sneasel. Diana wasn't aware Gladion even had a Sneasel.

No, it had taken a turn for the musical. Guzma was singing.

And he honestly wasn't horrible.

_"Your boy Guzma hasn't always been this way  
__I really led a strong crew once  
__But every action has it's price to pay  
__To keep myself out of jail, man."_

Gladion's hand twitched again. This time, he was stunned speechless, wearing a similar expression to the one that had been on Hau's face when he saw Diana jump in to pet a Frankendog mid-battle.

_"Did you think your mother wouldn't mind the part  
__Where you stole secrets she tried to hide  
__If you think you can appeal to her heart -  
__Access denied_

_Your mom might be crazy  
__But did you think she wouldn't see her lab was wrecked  
__That dog was locked up 'cause it was crazy  
__The lab was spotless as the symbol on my neck  
__\- What the heck?"_

Diana blinked. Was that a bit of backstory she heard? Guzma didn't let her ask.

_"You know you're dumb, dumb, dumb  
__You think that you can be tough guy?  
__Small fry  
__You want trouble? Here it comes, comes, comes  
__Now it's time to say goodbye  
__You gonna cry?_

_I kind of liked you  
__But now I despise you -"_

"Need any help, Gladion?" Diana interrupted, and both of them turned to face her.

"No, thanks," Gladion said quickly. "He's coming at me with a musical number, I think I can manage." He sent out Null, and immediately commanded an attack.

"I'm just saying," Diana continued, "we kicked serious butt when we worked together. It's a pragmatic suggestion."

Guzma's laughter echoed in the night sky, and the song picked up before Gladion could respond.

_"Well, well, well  
__Seems like someone went and found himself a girl  
__A little nervous, aren't you, Gladion?  
__But seeing you two makes me wanna hurl  
__Don't you think you can do better, man?"_

"She's not my girl," Gladion tried protesting, but he could have been talking to a wall for all the attention Guzma was paying.

_"But I have to give you credit that you tried  
__You were off to a great start  
__Now your girlfriend gets to heal your shattered pride  
__And broken heart."_

"Not my girlfriend," Gladion said again, but this time he was drowned out entirely, by both the song and the pummeling his Pokémon was receiving.

_"The world has gone crazy  
__Here I really thought you wanted to be tough  
__Show your stuff  
__In this world so crazy  
__I think your Pokémon have had enough  
__My team's too tough_

_And I can see you try  
__But you can't expect a phony god  
__To beat Golisopod  
__Now you can go and cry  
__It's time for you both to fall apart  
__You can't restart."_

Golisopod slammed Null down to the ground, but Null jumped back, as if to prove the singer a liar. Guzma just shook his head and started leaning in.

_"With all of your problems  
__That you abandoned here  
__Becoming an outcast  
__When Mom lost her marbles  
__You try to be tough  
__But you're just not trying hard enough!"_

Gladion's pale face got even paler, and his hand shook more than ever. He tried to tell Null to launch another attack, but Golisopod slammed it down again.

_"You're trying  
__But it's time that you start crying_

_The whole world has gone freakin' crazy  
__So prepare for the last fight you'll ever see  
__And it's all thanks to me  
__Ain't it all so crazy?  
__Your Type: Null is worn out, here, why can't you see?  
__You're never free_

_Aether is full of crazy  
__You'll never stop this crazy..."_

Null didn't get back up. Diana released Mimikyu and stepped forward, only four words leaving her lips:

"Rotom, play boss music!"

"I don't know," Rotom said reluctantly. "His was pretty good."

"Then remix it!"

Rotom proceeded to do just that.

* * *

Mimikyu went down with two Razor Shell attacks, one to break his disguise and one to break him, and Diana realized that Guzma had been holding back before, as part of the distraction. Bewear sent Golisopod running back to its trainer, but the Masquerain took her down before she could get a good attack in. Poliwhirl was a bad choice, too - a single Bug Buzz almost took him out. It was only then that Diana realized that Guzma actually was a Bug-type specialist and not someone who just happened to have more than one Bug on his team. That altered her strategy.

Lycanroc took out the Masquerain, and then finished off Golisopod. He severely damaged the following Pinsir, but an X-Scissor cut him out of the fight.

Diana couldn't help but laugh as she sent out Murkrow. Sure, he didn't have impressive Flying-type moves, but he did have one attack that she knew would serve her well: Foul Play.

Ariados didn't know what hit it.

Guzma yelled again, but this time, not even Eli flinched. Guzma reluctantly stepped aside. Diana smiled mockingly at Gladion, who did not return the gesture.

"Not bad," he said instead, and Diana's smile turned genuine. It was actually kind of cute, Gladion thought to himself, when she wasn't making fun of people or maddened by science in a way that reminded him of his mother. Not that he told Diana any of this. The Luvdisc incident was still fresh in his mind. "Keep going, and you might just be impressive."

The smile faded, and she stuck out her tongue. "All right then. Why don't you lead the way?"

Gladion looked up at the large building in front of them, and a bit of the fear from Guzma's song reappeared. Then he nodded.

"Let's go," he said, and took the first few steps.

Diana still passed him, though.

* * *

The only path that wasn't barred over was, of course, the door that Lillie and Lusamine were hiding behind. Lusamine's mouth popped open when she saw Diana standing there, especially when she noticed that the boys hadn't come in after her yet. "Diana?"

Lillie turned around and made the exact same expression. "Diana?" Then she smiled brightly. "Thank you!"

Lusamine hummed. "So. You two know each other? A gifted trainer like Diana, and she bothers with someone like you?"

Lillie whirled back. "I don't need your approval, Mother! I will take Cosmog back and protect it! I did it once! I can do it again!"

"Mother?" Eli's voice repeated from the doorway. "Lusamine's your mom?"

"Eli," Diana said, irritation clear, "these two and Gladion are the only pale, green-eyed blondes on these islands. Of course they're related."

"You're wrong," said Lusamine, through clenched teeth. "I have no children! My children would never run off with my life's work, rejecting my love! If you want to save your precious Cosmog..." her mood settled back to blank. "How do you suggest you do it? You don't even have any Pokémon of your own." Lillie lowered her head. Lusamine turned her back on her. "You can watch me summon my beast, and then you can leave."

"You can't sacrifice Nebby for your stupid beast!" Lillie snapped. "It's going to die!"

"Of embarrassment because you named it Nebby."

"Psycho has a point," Diana interrupted, hoping to give Gladion some time to steal Cosmog back.

"Not now, Diana," Lillie snapped back.

Lusamine stepped toward a teleportation pad. "I loved you, once. But the beasts are my children now. And like any mother, I will do anything to protect them. If you and Gladion had stayed, you would have been under the same protections, but since you became nothing but spoiled brats..."

"Hello, pot," Gladion muttered. "My name is kettle."

She shrugged, not seeming to process that he was calling her a hypocrite. "I never could get you horrible creatures to behave. I suppose I only have myself to blame for how you turned out."

And she was gone. Lillie turned back to Diana, her eyes filled with tears.

"I'm so sorry..." she said as the first ones started to fall. "I'm so sorry...but I need to be selfish one last time. I...I need you to save Nebby again."

"I thought you were done with that stupid nickname," Diana said, and Lillie let out a strangled sob. Diana smiled. "Hey, I don't want it to die, either. Just let me be a little selfish, too, will you?" Lillie looked over at her, lip trembling. Diana held out her hand for a pinkie promise. "You're going to change that name once and for all."

Lillie hesitated for a moment, but wrapped her own little finger around her friend's. "I promise. If you don't let anything happen to it."

"Nothing it can't recover from." Diana turned back to her cousin and the others that had followed him in. "Let's go, boys. We have to save mini-Diana."

"That name is so dumb," Lillie muttered.

"Now you know how I've felt since we met."

And Diana stepped on the teleportation pad.


	40. The Big Freezer

**EDITOR'S NOTE: "This battle was easier than I expected in my Diana run. I needed to include that, so I wrote the battle results as it played out in my game. On an unrelated note, we also tried to show that Lusamine was half-possessed."**

Wherever they ended up, it was something that none of them had ever expected.

Except, obviously, Eli.

"I knew it," he muttered. "Lusamine has a big freezer. Lillie, stay with Diana. I'm going to look for your dad's head."

Diana grabbed the back of his shirt. "Eli," she hissed. "Don't. Gladion said that she wasn't responsible for her husband's accident. He'd know, wouldn't he?"

"Lillie didn't know her mom had a big freezer," Eli protested. "I still might be right about this, Diana! Who's to say that Lillie _isn't_ a jewel thief, or Marlon _isn't_ a merman, or that the forest gods _don't_ exist?" He gestured around the room. "I'm the king of being right!"

"Jewel thief?" Lillie repeated softly, concern crossing her pretty face for a moment.

Lusamine did not notice. "Impressive collection, isn't it?" She stroked a cryo-block that held a sleeping Pikachu. "The poor darlings were sick, and we didn't have all the resources to heal them. So we froze them to heal them later. But then I realized that they would leave me, too. So I told Wicke that I was working on these, while Faba helped me build a new chamber." Her smile faded. "She'll be angry, no doubt. But I won't be here. I'll be with my precious beast...helping it adjust to this strange new world...all of Alola as its playground..."

Diana reached out to tap the chamber holding a Slowpoke. "It...it is a marvel of science," she admitted. "I thought cryogenic chambers were just a work of science fiction."

"You can be impressed later," Gladion's voice snapped, and Diana pulled her hand away, ashamed.

"I suppose teleportation pads were science fiction at one point," she said, as if to defend herself. "Advancements are being made daily...science fiction is becoming science fact..."

Gladion gave her an irritated glance, but decided it wasn't worth his time when he had to go after his own mother. "Don't open the Ultra Wormhole! You can't let the beasts run wild!"

"Don't tell me what I can't do!" Lusamine snapped. "I _made _you, Gladion. You owe me your life."

"I never asked to be born. I don't owe you anything."

Lusamine ignored him. "I was able to open the wormhole with Cosmog's gases alone. But now that I have Cosmog itself...I wonder _how many_ wormholes I'll be able to open?"

Lillie screamed. Diana felt Rotom shaking in fear in her bag. But, strangely, nothing around them seemed to be burning, or even thawing. One look over at Eli showed why - he was too angry to be afraid. Spite was going to be that boy's friend.

Lusamine held out the cage Cosmog was trapped in. It made a frantic 'pew' sound. "Don't worry, dear Lillie," she said, though the threat in her voice was clear. "I'll get you a new pet. You'll have a sweet beast of your own."

She pressed a button, and the cube started to glow, and then expand. She threw it up into the air before it could swallow her up. A large jellyfish-like Ultra Beast emerged.

The cold in Diana's chest came back.

* * *

"What have you done?" Gladion screamed, catching the cube before Cosmog was hurt any more. "You've doomed us all!"

"Look what I've done!" Lusamine said at the same time, her voice full of childish glee. "All over Alola, my beautiful beasts are coming! Oh, don't worry, my new, better children..."

It said a lot about her parenting skills that her actual children said nothing in response to this. Guzma's arrival was likewise ignored, and he ran over to Lusamine's side in anticipation.

"Did it work?" he asked excitedly. "Did you do the thing?"

Lusamine's maniacal smile disappeared, replaced by annoyance. "Yes, Guzma. I did the thing."

"Sweet. That means it's time to catch that sweet Ultra Beast to beat down these bratty kids, right?"

"An excellent idea." She waved dismissively at the kids, the smile returning as she looked back at the jellyfish. "Take care of these kids for me. I don't want to hear from them again."

Gladion cut in front of Diana. "You fend off Guzma," he told her. "I'll handle the beast. Null was born to be a beast killer."

For some reason, the thought of the beast being killed was appealing to Diana, despite the science that could be done with it. The thought of what Lusamine might do to her own son in revenge overpowered that thought, and she shook her head in defiance. "No. You're not going to fight that thing alone."

"Diana -"

"Gladion," she interrupted, somewhat pleased that he was using her name again. "Null was born to be a beast killer, but my Poliwhirl seemed to be super effective against it. We'll take it on together. Then we'll take on your mom and send her to whatever psychiatrist is licensed to handle this level of crazy."

Gladion couldn't argue with that. "Hau! You and the Human Torch take care of Guzma. Diana -"

"Diana will do no such thing," Lusamine said, faux sweetness dripping from every syllable. "And neither will you, Gladion. My precious beast has done nothing to deserve such a punishment." Diana scoffed. Lusamine's eyes narrowed. "Well, then. If you won't surrender in silence, then I'll just have to silence you myself." She tossed out a Pokeball. "Get rid of her, my precious Clefable!"

Diana didn't have anything to type-advantage her way past a Fairy-type, but she did have a Fairy-type of her own. "Mimikyu, let's go!"

* * *

Diana had a different Pokémon to counter each of Lusamine's. Mimikyu defeated Clefable, though Clefable used Metronome and triggered two different Dragon moves, plus one that took out only his disguise. Stanford took care of Lilligant and Murkrow wiped the floor with Mismagius. Poliwhirl proved very useful going up against the Milotic, and Diana couldn't resist the temptation of a double Bewear showdown.

Diana's Bewear lost that fight, but the Take Down attacks Lusamine ordered chipped away at her own Bewear's health as well. Thanks to the constant use of Baby-Doll Eyes, even Stanford's Leaf Blade was rendered next to useless.

Time to break out her new favorite strategy.

"Come back, Stanford," she ordered, and the Decidueye rushed back to her side as she sent out Murkrow once again. Lusamine called for Take Down again, now that she had a non-Ghost opponent, but Diana's wordless shout encouraged Murkrow to avoid the attack. Then, Diana nodded. "Foul Play!"

Murkrow's cheerful caws resembled human laughter as Bewear fell, unable to continue.

"I love that move," Diana muttered to herself.

**"I love that move," **Murkrow said at the same time.

If Rotom hadn't been so scared, he would have commented on how in sync the two were. Stanford himself let out a laughing hoot as his trainer and teammate had their shared moment of glory, Murkrow returning to Diana and perching on her outstretched arm.

But Lusamine was throwing a tantrum, and that was what was slowly but surely eating its way through Diana's victory high.

"All I want is my precious beast!" Lusamine screamed. "I don't care about the rest of you! Take your stupid Cosmog and get out! I have the Beast Balls!"

"Beast Balls?" Diana repeated, but Lusamine ignored her. Instead, she flashed her children a taunting smile, waved, and disappeared into the Ultra Wormhole.

Guzma pushed past Hau and Eli, stunned. "Wait up! You promised to make me a superhero! Team Skull was going to be the X-Men! _Lusamine!"_

And he ran into the wormhole after her.

No one else even tried to get them back.

"You were right, Eli," Diana said after a moment of silence. "Lusamine was a woman with no marbles."

Eli held out his phone. "Do you mind saying that again? I want to have it recorded."

The others weren't listening, instead surrounding the cage that held Cosmog. "Nebby?" Lillie asked nervously, ignoring Diana's death glare. "Are you...all right?"

Gladion, hand shaking more than ever, opened the cage so his sister could see her friend. The thing that floated out was alive, but Diana wasn't sure what else it was.

Cosmog wasn't the Cosmog that they were familiar with. It wasn't moving, merely floating along, and seemed to be even smaller than the Pokémon that Diana had first rescued. It looked like a tiny, galaxy-patterned face, surrounded by gold 'bones' in an oval shape.

"A form change?" Diana asked, reaching out to poke it. It flinched at her touch, but it didn't wake up. "Interesting. I have a few Hyper Potions left over, maybe I can use them on Cosmog to see if its form changing is linked to a loss of energy." She poked it again, to the same response. "Though, if Lillie hasn't seen this form before, not even when Professor Burnet found her on the beach..."

"Put the research away, Buttercup." And there, apparently, went Gladion's respect for her. "Nothing good happens here. We're leaving. Now."

He turned and left, the others following. Lillie even snatched Cosmog away from Diana to make her escape.

Diana looked to her birds, and sighed in disappointment. "He really _is _the worst."

But this time, she said it almost fondly.


	41. Mega Lillie

**We wanted something calm for once. Next time we'll go back to the plot.**

Wicke was waiting for them on the other side of the teleport pad, with healing items and snacks for people and Pokémon alike. "Thank goodness you're all unharmed! What happened down there?"

"A lot," Gladion answered immediately. "And there's a lot we still have to do. The president and Guzma walked into an Ultra Wormhole, Cosmog is alive but not moving, and...well, Lusamine is still our mother. We can't leave her there, no matter how much we want to."

"But how are we supposed to reach other worlds?" Eli asked. "In case you forgot, your mom nearly killed your sister's pet to get to the beast's world in the first place. Even if we can fix Cosmog, I don't think Lillie's going to let us try that again."

"So we'll call Alola's Legendary Pokémon," Gladion decided. "Solgaleo, or Lunala, whichever. It might be impossible - I don't even know if it's real. But then, I didn't think I'd get any of my respect for Diana back after the Incident when she first met Null. Maybe my life will be full of surprises."

Diana stuck out her tongue. "So am I Diana, or am I Buttercup? If we're going to be working together, I want to know if you're going to keep attempting to insult me."

"It depends on how annoyed I am," Gladion told her. "At the moment, you're Diana."

Wicke hid a smile behind her hand, and quickly changed the subject. "If your friends want to stay, I made some beds for the occasion."

"Sounds great," Hau answered before Lusamine's kids could reply. "Sleep, I mean. I'm cool with going somewhere else if I have to."

Lillie quickly shook her head. "No! Don't go anywhere! I owe you and Eli and Diana so much for what happened back there. Stay. Please?"

So they stayed.

* * *

Neither Eli nor Diana got a good night's sleep. Eli spent most of the night alternating between trying to scare himself into setting things on fire on purpose and trying to get his one non-Fire Pokémon to come out of her ball - she'd _really _been scared of the lightning back in Po Town. Things hadn't gone well, but at least Robbie had convinced her to come out for him. That was something, even if she did disappear whenever Eli showed up to apologize.

Diana's bad night was related to dreams. She wasn't afraid of these dreams, so she didn't classify them as nightmares, but they were more frustrating than most other dreams she remembered.

She'd never felt much difference in temperature. An abandoned pillow and a pile of snow had always felt almost the same, maybe a degree of difference. The heat from the lava hadn't been much different than the steam from a hot shower. But whatever was on the other side of the Ultra Wormhole was cold, and a cold she could _feel. _And that, combined with the much more obvious discovery of Lusamine's creepy freezer, was the reasoning she assigned to dreaming she was trapped behind a block of ice, cracking it as she pounded her way through it but tiring out before she could reach freedom.

Wicke had arranged two rooms, one for Diana and one for Hau and Eli. Gladion had retreated to the one that had been his as a child, while Lillie had claimed her mother's instead. Apparently, both of them wanted to remember when Lusamine was a decent person. That was fine with Diana, but she really needed someone to talk to, and she wasn't sure Wicke was even still around.

Rotom, used to popping in and out of the Pokedex as he pleased, was currently investigating other electronics. Diana noticed the glowing orange lump staring in the direction of the freezer, and she suspected that he was planning to hack the control to free all the frozen Pokémon himself.

He turned when he noticed she was up, however, and launched himself into his usual case in order to speak to her. "I thought humans need sleep to function!"

"We do. Scientists just don't need as much." That was probably a lie, but she wasn't going to think too hard about it. "I need to get out. Do some thinking, maybe plan a little. I want to figure out how to finish what I started."

Rotom knew without asking that she wasn't talking about the Z-Crystals. "Do you want me to get Eli and Hau?"

"Please."

It took only a few seconds. Apparently, Hau had kicked Eli out of the room, saying that if he was going to practice his Firebending he should do it somewhere that wasn't putting anyone else in immediate danger. So Eli walked into his cousin's room, after waking Hau to come along, and the three were sitting on the bed, wondering how they all got roped into this when it was supposed to just be a family problem.

"We've gotta do it, though," Hau said, and ignored the 'Well, duh' looks his friends were giving him. "We can't let Lusamine do whatever she did."

"But she's on the other side of an Ultra Wormhole now," Diana pointed out. "It's not like we can go and get her without using up whatever's left of Cosmog." And she really didn't want to go through the wormhole herself. She didn't like what the wormholes did to her. But she kept that to herself, letting the boys continue the conversation.

"But Lillie should get her mom back," Hau objected. "Gladion, too, but with him I can see where his entire personality comes from."

Eli shook his head. "Diana just pointed out that Cosmog would die if we tried."

Rotom lowered himself into Diana's arms. "So what are we going to do?"

Diana thought. "We're going to do what we always do," she decided. "We're going to wing it."

"I was afraid of that," Rotom sighed. "Remember when you decided to 'wing' the Ghost challenge?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Diana's smile showed she had no regrets, and the boys wondered what had happened in that abandoned supermarket. "We'll find a way."

* * *

The next day, the five kids gathered outside the house, and four of them were staring at Lillie.

Lillie looked down at her new outfit self-consciously. "I...I'm sorry. I just thought...since Diana changed back on the second island...does it look bad?"

"You look great," Hau said quickly, getting an annoyed glance from Gladion and a roar of laughter from Eli. He responded to the latter by shoving his hand into Eli's face. Lillie giggled behind her hand.

"He's right," Diana reassured her, "but...you really should have told me about you preferring white clothes instead of just your mom choosing for you. I kind of feel like we match now."

"Yeah, I guess. But it's not like I was there when you bought yours."

"Point taken."

"Besides," Lillie said, all hints of her embarrassment gone, "I want to be like you, Diana. You, and Hau, and Gladion. Strong enough to face anything." She smiled brightly and did a Z-pose. "This is my Z-Powered form!"

"And you killed the moment. Z-Power does nothing to a Pokémon's form. If you'd said you were _Mega Lillie, _however..."

"Knock it off, Buttercup," Gladion interrupted, and Diana immediately shut up. Gladion passed her to hand Lillie a strange orange flute. "I found that downstairs. It's the artifact from Alola's history. The Sun Flute."

"Flute?" Eli repeated. He looked over at Lillie, then Diana. "Didn't the book Acerola gave you mention flutes?"

Lillie nodded. "The Sun Flute and Moon Flute."

"Our dad told us the story when we were little," Gladion explained. "I can't remember most of it, but I remember he used to make stupid flute noises whenever he got to that part. It's said that when the flutes sound together, they can call the legendary Pokémon."

"So Lusamine was planning to get the legendary, too," Diana summarized.

"Most likely," Gladion agreed. Then, surprising everybody, he handed her a Master Ball. "I found that down there, too. Figured you could use it."

"Most likely." Diana gave him one of her pure smiles, not corrupted by mocking, irritation, or madness. "Thanks."

"Take care of Lillie for me. I have to take care of Aether Paradise."

"Do I have a mission, Gladion?" Hau asked, half-joking. "For once I beat the Ghost trial, I mean."

"Yes, actually." He tilted his head toward the cousins. "Keep these idiots from dooming Alola. We have a crazy ice scientist running around, we don't need a crazy fire science team at the same time."

"You're going to at least get us off this island, right?" Eli asked, and Gladion pressed his fingers to his forehead.

"Yes, Eli. I'll arrange for one of Wicke's employees to take you to Poni Island. Diana can finish her trials, Lillie can look for the Moon Flute, and you can...do whatever makes Elis happy."

Diana couldn't remember much of what happened on the ride. But she would remember, later on, that Poni Island was the point where her life went from strange to confusing, and from confusing to amazing.


	42. Amending Fences

**So there's another chapter of peace. This one stars Vulpix.**

Seafolk Village was a small cluster of houseboats, and not much of a village at all. At least, not like the villages Diana was used to seeing. And the group was quickly introduced to the chief of the seafolk, who gave a bit of explanation about the seafolk, about collecting berries, and a single piece of information that brought Diana's train of thought screeching to a halt.

"What do you mean, there's no kahuna on Poni Island?"

"Exactly what I said," said the chief. "But the last kahuna's wife and granddaughter are still around. Little Hapu loves her family history, and she'll probably be happy to help." He gestured to the route connected to the dock that made up most of Seafolk Village. "Her house is the only one on Poni Island still standing. You should find it no problem."

Diana was still appalled. "You don't even have a kahuna? How are my trials supposed to end? I need a Grand Trial if I'm going to leave the island!"

"Call the trial you get here your Grand Trial," the chief suggested. "All the other trainers do."

"Leave it alone, Diana," Lillie said before Diana could complain once again. "We know Hapu, right?"

"Right," Diana admitted, "but I don't think -"

"And it will be nice to see her again, right?"

"I guess, but -"

"Good." Lillie took one of Diana's hands, and Diana quickly grabbed one of Eli's to keep him in the group. "Then we'll be on our way! Thanks, Mr. Chief, sir!"

And she'd led them off before either of the cousins could speak.

* * *

They managed to take a short detour to a beach, where Diana demanded that Eli let Vulpix out.

"We're going to get her over the lightning thing," she said, and her cousin held his fox's ball protectively.

"I get why," he said, "but she doesn't even come out for me. She's kind of Robbie's Vulpix now."

"Then leave him with me, too." She tapped her bag. "I have enough stamps on my passport to make him listen."

Eli considered it for a while, but finally agreed. "Salazzle and Larvesta have been falling behind," he admitted. "And Arcanine likes going for walks." He handed her two Pokeballs. "Have fun with your full team of eight."

Diana stuck out her tongue, but he had already turned around, releasing his other three Pokémon to go and play. Diana tapped Robbie's ball. "Hey. I'm babysitting you guys for the next few hours. Think you can come and help the little princess out of exile?"

The Incineroar let himself out, and held out a large paw for his teammate's ball. Diana handed it over, and Robbie lifted it to his face.

**"Listen up, poop nugget," **he said, and Rotom snickered in Diana's bag. **"Eli's not here. Diana wants to see you. You don't have anything against her, right?"**

**"I refuse," **a tiny voice said from inside the ball. **"She encourages the boy."**

Diana cleared her throat. "Look, Vulpix. I don't know what you're thinking, but I can promise you that Eli would never, ever..._intentionally_ hurt you, with lightning or otherwise. He was pretty good to you in the whole twenty-something hours you knew him, wasn't he?"

**"I made a bad decision," **Vulpix insisted. **"You do it all the time, so I hear."**

Rotom quickly translated, or at least as much as he could with how muffled it was. Diana refused to acknowledge that point. "Look. I get it. Eli makes bad decisions all the time, because he's bored, or he thinks it'll be funny, or because he's a boy. I've heard the Y chromosome sometimes glitches basic common sense."

"I think that's more related to the X chromosome," Rotom snarked. "You have _no shortage _of stupid ideas." Diana slapped her bag to shut him up.

"Look. The point is that everyone, human and Pokémon and alien alike, makes bad decisions. But the thing is, when Eli and I make bad decisions, we just smack each other and call each other stupid. I missed my chance to do it to him for you, and I'm sorry. But he's not a bad person, look at how Robbie turned out. If you come out of there and agree to give him a second chance, you can hit him, too." The ball twitched. "Only once, though. And don't hit him too hard - it might have been terrifying, but let's be real. Was that really not funny?"

There was a moment of silence. Then the Pokeball opened and Vulpix emerged, looking slightly amused.

**"I can't read, Diana," **she pointed out. Rotom quickly explained what the fire letters meant, and Vulpix suddenly understood.

"Think you can forgive him now?"

**"I think I can try," **Vulpix decided.

Getting the gist of it, Diana smiled brightly. "All right, then! You can take Lycanroc's place as we head into the water." She released Lycanroc and removed her shoes, handing them to him as he looked on in confusion. "We're going to do some training!"

This training led to Poliwhirl diving under the water and bringing her back a Dusk Stone. She tossed that to Lycanroc, too.

She'd use it as soon as possible.

* * *

Eli and his remaining Pokémon had a good time collecting berries from an angry Crabrawler, but unfortunately, it hadn't lost a claw during the battle. Disappointed that he wouldn't be able to try its meat yet, he returned to Diana and the rest, hoping that she'd made some kind of progress.

He found Vulpix playing in the water, leaving it colder than usual, but having a fun time splashing at Bewear, who seemed to be tolerating it but quickly running out of patience. Diana was blow-drying Stanford, as Murkrow sat on Lycanroc's head and stared down at a large purple stone, clearly attempting to decide if it was shiny enough for him.

Mimikyu noticed him first, and reached out with one long spooky hand to tap Diana's leg. She looked over at him, and followed where he was pointing.

"Hey, Eli! I got Vulpix to promise to give you a second chance. Turns out, she doesn't want you to be stuck as a Fire-type specialist, either."

Hearing her trainer's name, Vulpix turned to the shore. She let out a loud cry, swam over, and proceeded to launch an Icy Wind attack at him.

Eli wasn't bothered much by cold, either, but he flinched anyway. "Payback, huh?" She nodded, but then flopped down on his feet. "So...that means I'm forgiven?"

**"You get _one _second chance," **she answered pointedly. **"After that, I'm joining your cousin instead."**

Rotom translated. Eli nodded.

"Yeah, I guess I kind of deserve that. I should have warned you about my plan. I'm a bad person, and I'm sorry."

Robbie handed Eli two Pokeballs. Eli quickly used them to call his Pokémon back, and then looked to Diana again. "Thanks for doing this."

"Not a problem. I did it partly for my own gain." She looked back at Murkrow and Lycanroc. "I might need a Fire or Ice Pokémon with me when I take my last few trials. Poliwhirl can learn Ice Punch, but I don't know how." She glanced over at Poliwhirl, who looked slightly ashamed. "Anyway. I might need Vulpix, and I know that you _do _need her."

"You're right." He paused for a moment. "Well, then, let's go get Lillie. We need to find Hapu, right?"

* * *

They found Lillie and Hapu talking, Hapu confirming that there was no kahuna but that she had battled something that came out of the sky.

"That would be an Ultra Beast," said Lillie, her voice hardening. "We're on a mission to stop them from appearing in Alola."

"If that's the case, then you're free to head to the ruins." Hapu patted her Mudsdale on the leg. "We'll show you the way."

"Hapu!" an old woman's voice chirped, and all of them turned at once. "I didn't know you had friends."

Hapu laughed. "Gran, I've told you about Lillie. And I think I mentioned Diana once, too."

"Not me?" Eli asked, sounding almost hurt.

"Of course she has. You're the sidekick to your cousin's adventure," Hapu's grandmother said. The Machamp beside her snickered. "If you kids are heading up to the ruins, take Machamp with you. He'll get obstacles out of your way."

"We won't have to put him in the Ride Pager, will we?" Diana really hated the Ride Pager, Charizard excluded. Her grandfather and Hala had donated their Pokémon, but they had been left in their balls all this time. She didn't even know how to get Stoutland off the island.

Fortunately, Hapu's grandmother rejected it. "It wouldn't work if all of you decided to ride," she pointed out. "I only have the one. He's just going to follow you and look out for you, offering his services if needed."

"That's better, then."

Machamp still picked up Lillie, though, even as she squeaked in surprise. Hapu laughed out loud.

"Well, then! If we've got our knight in shining armor over here, there's nothing stopping us! Let's head over to the Ruins of Hope - and the last one there walks the plank!"


	43. The New Kahuna

**In which the authors attempt to speedrun the last few chapters.**

Finding their way to the Ruins of Hope, especially after Hapu left them in the dust, took longer than expected. Machamp refused to help, but at least his snickering when they took a wrong turn was still a good indicator.

And so was the Mudsdale standing right outside a giant hole.

Machamp put Lillie down here, but he didn't go home. Mudsdale didn't move, so Hapu must have still been in the ruins.

"Do you think it will work?" Lillie asked. "If we go in there, do you think Nebby will return to normal?"

Diana's eyes narrowed. "I thought you promised to drop that name."

"_You _promised to look after Nebby," Lillie reminded her. "I can abandon my promise until it recovers. Which, according to legends, Tapu Fini can help with."

"You really think that'll work?"

Lillie huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Honestly, Diana! I'll make sure Nebby gets back to normal, just to show you!"

Diana shrugged. "Hey, I'm all for investigating legends. I'm just skeptical, that's all."

Lillie relaxed. "Right. Um, Eli..."

"I've got it under control," he promised. "I know what triggers it now. Diana has her Poliwhirl and Lycanroc to deal with any accidents. It's good."

Lillie nodded, and looked into the cave. "Ok, Nebby," she said, more to herself than the creature sleeping in her bag. "This time, I'm going to save you!"

And she walked into the ruins with much more confidence than Diana had ever seen in her before. Not to be outdone, Diana followed behind, with Eli bringing up the rear.

* * *

They did need Machamp to get through the small puzzle in the ruins, but it was a simple solution. Diana was much more concerned with what she saw when they entered the room the puzzle was blocking.

Hapu was standing at an altar to Tapu Fini, and something was glowing. As the three were silent, Hapu spoke.

"I give you thanks for your great blessing," she said, putting a hand to her chest as the glow stopped. "As kahuna, I will do my best for the people and Pokémon of Alola."

"Kahuna?" Diana whispered, stunned. Something like _That was convenient_ crossed her mind, but the majority of her brain was processing what was going on. Nothing had glowed when she'd interacted with Tapu Koko, except maybe Cosmog's Teleport flash. Hau would be pleased to hear he still had a chance at following in his grandfather's footsteps. She'd have to tell him later. If she remembered.

Hapu turned, and seemed just as startled as Diana was surprised. "So the three of you were watching."

"You're kahuna now?" Diana asked, the confusion breaking through. She didn't like confusion.

Hapu nodded. "The guardians choose the kahunas. Lillie mentioned that you were new to these parts, Diana, but I thought your cousin would have explained that."

Eli shook his head. "Hala's been kahuna longer than I've been alive, and I never left Melemele until Diana got here. I've never seen the choosing happen before."

"And yet it was her that was given the sparkling stone by the tapu." She chuckled. "My grandfather would have had a lot to say about you. He spent his time as kahuna looking for...anomalies. Aliens. He believed that the legends of the tapu protecting humanity would repeat. I thought it was a load of bullfish. And then I meet you and Eli, together...I thought maybe he'd sent you to me. Neither of you speak to dead people, right?" They confirmed that they didn't. Hapu continued. "So how do you apologize to a man who's been dead for years? The only answer I can think of is to do what he would have done - exactly what the tapu told him to."

"But you weren't kahuna when we met," Eli pointed out.

"No. I was trying to get stronger. I thought maybe Tapu Fini would choose me if I showed it my strength. But..." She cracked a smile. "Lillie, don't you have something to ask the kahuna?"

Lillie jumped back to attention. "Right! Kahuna Hapu, my mother...isn't the greatest person. But she's still my mother, and I need to free her from the Ultra Beast's world."

"So the thing that showed up on my island was an Ultra Beast, huh?" Hapu huffed. "Tapu Fini and I nearly lost that fight. Maybe our lives."

"Do you have any information about Lunala?" Lillie asked, more plainly.

Hapu nodded. "The Altar of the Moone. They hold a ceremony for Lunala there, that uses two flutes to summon the legendary Pokémon."

Lillie pulled the Sun Flute from her bag. "Would this be one of them?"

Hapu looked it over, then nodded. "Looks like it. This one was kept on Ula'Ula Island. I think the other one is on Exaggutor Island."

"Exeggutor?" Diana interrupted. The palm tree Pokémon crossed her mind, and almost as if she could read it, Hapu laughed.

"I don't think it's the Exeggutor you're used to," she warned, and she pushed them all out of the ruins.

* * *

They ended up back in the Seafolk Village, where Hapu had shown off her new kahuna status and gotten Lillie and friends a ride to Exeggutor Island with the chief himself. The three kids left with the kahuna's blessing and reluctant (at least where the cousins were concerned) friendship, and the ride to the island was short - and, surprisingly, not full of paranoia brought by having the infamous Eli Frost in a big wooden Magikarp.

The trip did involve spontaneous combustion, however, as a huge, skinny Exeggutor pulled itself out of the ground and lunged at the three children, all because Lillie had gotten too close.

Eli forced the terror down and defeated it using Vulpix. She happily accepted the bean reward, and they all enjoyed themselves as Eli and Diana raced around the small island, searching for more.

When the rain hit, they took shelter in a cave, and after a few minutes the laughter had died down. The three sat in silence for a moment. Then Lillie spoke up.

"We used to be like you two. Me and Gladion."

The cousins stared for a moment. "We're not siblings," Diana pointed out.

"You act like it." They had no objection to that.

"So," Eli said after another moment. "I'm guessing that you and Gladion used to be allowed to have fun?"

"More than that. Mother used to play with us." Lillie looked at the cave entrance, lost in thought. "She and I danced in the rain once. I'd seen a man do it in a movie, so I wanted to try it...Gladion refused, but Mother never let us do stupid things alone." She smiled a little. "We both ended up catching cold. She let me sleep in the big bed with her."

"So when did she..." He rolled his finger in small a circle next to his head, and stuck his tongue out.

Lillie looked at the ground. "I'm not sure. It happened gradually. My father was a scientist looking into the Ultra Beasts, and when he...had his accident...Mother took over. She started out wanting to protect her children...then it was that she didn't need her children...then it was that she didn't need anything but her beasts...and then, I guess, that the beasts were her children."

"So she was a decent person when your dad was around?" Eli frowned - this didn't line up with his freezer head theory at all. "Was he her restraining bolt?"

Lillie shook her head. "I can't remember much of my father. Sometimes I remember that he made sound effects when he was telling us stories, or that his breath always smelled like coffee, but I don't know them as memories. Only facts."

"So do you think he's still alive?" Diana asked.

Lillie considered. "He could be. But no matter if he's alive or dead, you'd think somebody would have contacted us. Another fact I remember is that he loved us - me, Gladion, even Mother. You don't just leave for years without at least giving your wife divorce papers. And if he's dead, then somebody should have let us know."

There was another moment of silence.

"You know, Diana," Lillie said carefully, "every time I think I can't do anything, you show up and do something. I'm a little jealous. You know what you want and are always looking for ways to push yourself..."

"Back up for a second." Diana had to fight a laugh. Lillie? Jealous of her? "_You're_ jealous? _I'm _jealous! You're so much prettier than I am, and once you open up to people they can't help but like you. I'm just a jerk after a science degree."

"A jerk with a good relationship with her family and plans for the future."

Diana went quiet again. She did have a great family - even with her parents busy wrapping things up in Kanto, she still had Eli and his parents and her grandparents. And she had met Professor Kukui, and his wife, and Colress, and Wicke - all of them seemed to be willing to help her with her research whenever she asked.

"Good point," Diana said quietly.

Eli made an excited sound and pointed outside. "Look! Sun! The rain's starting to clear up, we can leave now."

* * *

The flute wasn't very well-protected. Diana just reached out to the pedestal and grabbed it, wondering if it had been this easy for Lusamine to get her hands on the other one.

The ride home was just as uneventful as the ride there, and the chief was helpful enough to point them in the right direction. A quick check of Rotom's map showed exactly were Vast Poni Canyon was supposed to be, and they retreated back to the Pokémon Center, where they decided to get some beans and lemonade.

Diana held out the Dusk Stone that Poliwhirl had collected for her. "Well, Murkrow? We're going to be up against a lot of weird things. If we can summon the Legendary Pokémon, it might want to fight instead of doing something useful. If it decided to listen, then we'll have to face Lusamine and maybe Guzma again."

Murkrow looked from the stone to the girl. **"Do you have a Water Stone or King's Rock in that bag?"**

"He wants to know if you plan to evolve Poliwhirl," Rotom translated.

Diana considered. "I do," she decided, "but I don't have anything for that right now. That's why I want you to help. Besides, you've been by my side a lot longer than Poliwhirl has."

Murkrow couldn't argue with that. **"I see what's in it for you. But we started this as equal partners, Diana. What's in it for me?"**

When she heard that, Diana thought it over. "Half the collection of dress-up rings."

Murkrow cheered at that, and hopped up to accept his evolution. When it had stopped, the Honchkrow stretched out a wing, studying it.

**"Not bad," **he decided. **"More wing space to hoard our stash, Diana."**

Rotom didn't need to translate that. Diana knew exactly what he was saying. "We're going to get so much shiny stuff," she promised. "And if anything of mine loses a single sparkle, you can have it."

"And you'll both end up on the hoarder show," Eli continued.

Lillie sighed and looked down at her bag. "Maybe we shouldn't have stolen some of Mother's jewelry to pawn for food money," she told it.

Cosmog remained quiet.


	44. To New Heights

**EDITOR'S NOTE: "I only realized when facing Hapu in my Diana run that all of her Pokémon are physical attackers. I noticed this because I couldn't make a dent in Mudsdale with anything but Poliwhirl. I need to work on that."**

The path up to Vast Poni Canyon was easy enough to find. Especially when Hapu's grandmother had pointed them in the right direction. The problem was when they ran into Lillie and an army of Team Skull grunts, and instantly, both cousins picked their starters and prepared for battle.

"We heard about you at Aether," one grunt said. "Do you know what happened to our boy Guzma?"

"We might," Eli said carefully, not putting Robbie's ball away. He wasn't sure if it would be necessary to battle.

His instincts were proven right, and his words proven the wrong thing to say, when another grunt jumped to her feet. "Then out with it! We can make you talk if we have to!"

"You've never beaten either of us before," Diana cut in. Stanford, unlike Robbie, was already free, and was glaring at the grunts. The grunt who had spoken wasn't going to back down, and sent out her Fomantis to counter it.

Diana briefly considered switching to Honchkrow. But since her Decidueye was already out...

One Sinister Arrow Raid later, the grunt was defeated. She ran off in tears, but another grunt stepped up to take her place.

"You think you can take on all of us?" He gestured behind him. "Blondie over there isn't a real trainer. It's two against twenty! We'll give 200 percent to save our boy Guzma!"

"If you want a chance," Diana said with a smirk, "you should try two against two hundred _grunts_."

"Why you little -" the grunt started, and the battles began.

Stanford got switched for Lycanroc eventually, but only after the Raticate nearly type advantaged him out of it. The grunt really was giving 200 percent to save his boss. But 200 percent for Team Skull was only 1 percent for Diana and Eli working together.

They were prepared to ambush the Pokémon Center and try again, but luckily, Plumeria stepped in. "No one likes a sore loser," she told the grunt, and he stepped down, looking at the ground in shame. But Plumeria was there for Diana, and Eli to an extent. "Is it true that you defeated Guzma and he ran to another universe to hide the shame?"

Diana considered, but decided that honesty was the best way to handle this. "As much as I want to say yes, the truth is, we were pretty evenly matched. I trashed Lusamine in a battle and _she_ ran off to another world, but Guzma mentioned her turning Team Skull into the X-Men and ran off to follow her."

Plumeria blinked only once, at the mention of the X-Men, and then she sighed. "That's what I thought. Listen, Diana. Team Skull doesn't mean bad. They're just really, really dumb. That includes Guzma." Diana nodded in acknowledgement of those facts. "I'm pretty dumb, too. I was only doing what the president told me to, but I should have stopped at kidnapping. I'm sorry, Lillie."

"I get it," Lillie promised. "My mother probably offered you a lot of money."

"It was a little more complicated than money," Plumeria admitted. "Guzma likes the president. She's the only adult who ever seemed to notice how strong he was. He grew up on Melemele Island, but Hala never let him be a Trial Captain. So when he met the president..."

"My mother is a selfish person," Lillie admitted. "She says that only the worthy can have her love. Most of the 'worthy' don't even want it."

"Guzma had a neglectful childhood," Plumeria confirmed. "He told the story of how a Zorua switched places with him at the park and his parents didn't notice he was silent for three days. He would have accepted any form of love your mother gave him."

"So we'll have to save them both," Lillie announced.

"Good call." Plumeria handed Diana a Z-Crystal, a Poison-type one from the look of it, and apologized to Lillie once more before turning to leave.

Lillie looked back at her friends, and gave them a bright, beautiful smile. "Well, then! Let's get on with it. We have a promise to keep."

* * *

Hapu was there when they got to the entrance, and Diana gave the new kahuna the flute. Hapu took a moment to study it, and then handed it back. "Ok, Diana," she said, and Lillie looked ashamed. Diana wondered why, but Hapu answered before she could ask. "I want to see these battle skills that Lillie spoke so highly of. This is my Grand Trial, right here!"

"But I haven't -" Diana protested, but Hapu shook her head.

"No one does things right here on Poni Island," she told her. "My grandfather named one girl a captain two days before he died. She doesn't even _have _a trial."

"She doesn't?" But how was Diana going to get the Z-Crystal for this girl's type if she didn't have a trial?

Hapu didn't seem to notice Diana's disappointment. Instead, she sent out a Dugtrio, and Diana had to fight back laughter at the little heads' hair. But she sent out Stanford.

It was the hardest battle Diana had ever fought. She would have lost twice over if she hadn't stocked up on Revives. Maybe three times - that was how often she lost Bewear before Poliwhirl finally managed to take down the Mudsdale. Hapu hadn't even told her about the Stamina ability until Diana had already attacked it enough that the defenses were undefeatable. Then the Flygon was a separate nightmare entirely, but Stanford could Sinister Arrow Raid it before switching to the regular Spirit Shackle, and a single Leaf Blade was enough for the Gastrodon.

Diana and the Decidueye both let out a breath of relief when it was all over. Hapu didn't wait for the team to recover, however, instead giving Diana the Ground-type crystal and sending them down the path.

Fortunately, Lillie was always ready with a seemingly endless supply of healing items and repels, and the three of them clustered together to make the trip through Vast Poni Canyon shorter than most would expect.

* * *

There was a bridge in the canyon. A long, high-up bridge, bringing to mind the bridge that had been destroyed outside of the ruins back on Melemele Island. The cousins stopped and shared a look, wondering if they would have to carry Lillie across themselves.

Lillie surprised them both. "You know how I said that I was jealous?" she asked, and it would have been out of nowhere if no one knew what she was implying. "I've decided to do what I can to get over it. I'm going to be like you, whether I think it's a good idea or not." Both she and Diana ignored the muffled laughter from Eli and Rotom. "I'm going to start by getting over my fear of heights! You have no fear at all!"

"Nope." Diana grinned. "Good luck with being like me in that department."

"I suggest settling for being Eli," Rotom offered. "Scared but does something about it. Even if that something is triggering a supernatural fight-or-flight response that destroys property."

Eli glared at the Pokedex. "Have you never heard of insurance?"

"They have Frost insurance?" Eli nodded proudly. Rotom switched into panic mode. "You realize that's not something to be proud of, right? It's important to me that you know that."

Rotom's response was ignored when Lillie stepped onto the bridge.

"Let's hope I don't start any spontaneous fires," she teased, and carefully walked down the direct center of the bridge. Her friends were only a few paces behind her, Eli in the direct center as well while Diana wandered close to the edge, spreading her arms and wondering if this was how flying Pokémon felt when they took off.

She was pulled to the center of the bridge by a very alarmed Stanford, who had released himself from his ball just for this. **"Don't even try," **he warned, and Diana felt embarrassment wash over her.

"I wasn't going to jump," she promised, and even though he didn't seem to believe her, he let it go. She followed the others, still closer to the edge than either of them, letting her concerned partner follow, barely seeming to notice when Lillie approached a small group of Murkrow. The Murkrow did not attack, but they didn't move out of the way, and Lillie carefully moved around them. They just watched her go.

Diana let Honchkrow out to say hi, and they immediately flocked toward him, as if there were something to the rumor about Honchkrow having Murkrow minions. "Tell them you belong to a different island," Diana instructed, and she watched, fascinated, as the trio of crows flew away...in the direction of Melemele.

Honchkrow noticed his trainer's thought process. **"Don't get your hopes up, Diana. It's not quite what the Pokedex says about us."**

Even with Rotom saying so, Diana didn't falter. "Then I guess I'll have to interview you about that later. Rotom, take a note on that."

"You got it, boss!" Rotom chirped, and the adventure continued.

* * *

The next bridge had a girl covered in paint, staring off at the canyon, lying on her stomach to try to get the best angle. She looked up when she heard their footsteps, and climbed to her feet when she saw Diana.

"Now that is great composition," she said, and held out her hands in the way artists and photographers do when they prepare for art. "Visitors to Poni. I'm Mina, the trial captain."

"So you're the girl with no trial." Diana didn't even try to hide her irritation with her. She was missing out on a Z-crystal thanks to this girl.

"Yeah," Mina agreed, not caring. "I guess I should say I'm sort of the captain. I just wander around doing my art. I love this canyon too much to make a trial. Once you've been here, you can understand why Ilima designed his trial the way he did."

Diana's irritation melted off her face at her crush's name. "You know Ilima?"

"We've met once or twice." Mina didn't notice that, either. Still, she reached into her pocket and handed Diana something sparkly. It was a pink Z-crystal, with a small fairy symbol inside.

Diana put the crystal with the others that she'd collected. "Ok. I guess I can forgive you."

"Good. I guess." And Mina left, not bothering to show Diana the dance, muttering about maybe she should put some effort into a trial after all.

Diana almost called after her to finish what she started, but instead, when she noticed that Eli and Lillie had caught up to her, she sighed. "Rotom, look up how to activate a Fairy-type Z-move."


	45. Blood Runs Cold

**Freeman's Mind and Half-Life are why we named our protagonist Diana _Freeman. _(Eli sharing a name with a character was mostly coincidence)**

There was a trial gate in Vast Poni Canyon.

Mina had said that she didn't have a trial, and it didn't seem like there was another captain in sight. Three consecutive battles with trainers standing just outside the entrance, and all of them confirmed that there was a trial. None of them gave any more information.

"This sounds bad," Diana said, and looked around in the hope of finding something she could use to figure out the last trial. Rock and Ground were the only types she could guess, but she'd beaten the kahunas for those crystals. Maybe Flying, a lot of the canyon was high up...or maybe Dragon.

Dragon made the most sense. Diana looked over at her Pokeballs, disappointed - Mimikyu was barely standing after those three battles, and he was her best hope. But thanks to Lillie, she was ready to go, even as the trainers held Eli back.

Only a few steps in, Diana felt she was being watched again. A few steps later, a Pokémon that Rotom identified as Jangmo-o jumped down at her, screaming.

Diana simply stepped out of the way and told Mimikyu to handle it with his Play Rough attack. The same thing happened with the Hakamo-o. By that time, Diana had seen the pedestal holding the Dragon crystal, and she was debating if there was a way she could get close enough to take it without the Totem noticing.

All her plans failed before they got past the plotting stages. Diana decided to just go for it, and was rewarded by the biggest Totem she'd ever seen standing there in front of her, screeching as if it was attempting to frighten her off.

Diana smiled. "Hi. Can you hand me the crystal, please? I'm kind of in a hurry."

The Totem took a step back, confused. Then it screamed again, up close to Diana's face. Again, she didn't flinch.

"Ok, then," she said instead. She turned to the Mimikyu that had been following her since the first battle, and nodded. "Alternate between Shadow Sneak and Play Rough. And no matter what it calls for help, finish the Totem first."

It was one of the shortest trials she'd ever done. After the nightmare that was the Grand Trial, she could accept that.

* * *

As Rotom went to let Eli and Lillie know that the trial was over, Diana noticed the stairs leading up to what had to be the Altar of the Moone. She was looking up, eyes wide as she took it all in. Mimikyu made an excited noise, too, and Diana grinned down at him.

"I know," she said, and Mimikyu hummed. "It does look awesome."

She was distracted by the sound of hooves, and saw that Hapu had escorted Eli and Lillie across the trial area. "Well, Diana?" Lillie asked, getting down to heal Mimikyu from his battle. "Are you ready?"

"To summon the legendary?" Diana grinned back. "Of course I am. It's a rumor involving a Pokémon, after all."

Lillie giggled. "I thought you would be." She looked up at the mountain of stairs. "Are you ready to face the stairs?"

"Race you."

"You go ahead," Hapu said seriously. "The boy and I will stay here. We don't have the flutes."

With that as confirmation, the girls ran up the giant flight of stairs. Eli followed before Hapu could stop him, bolting up the stairs after them and leaving Hapu struggling to catch up on her short legs.

"What are you doing?" the kahuna complained when he'd stopped to catch his breath. "You're not supposed to be up there!"

"Why not?" Eli looked up - he'd climbed halfway up, and he could see his friends in the distance. "If the only reason that they're allowed is that they have the flutes, then I could have gotten a flute just as easily. I could have taken it from the pedestal, or swiped it from Diana's bag. I'm not about to miss the summoning of a legendary just because of random chance."

"But -" Hapu started, only for Eli to cut her off.

"And I'm not going to let anyone, even a kahuna, stop me."

Hapu paused. It was true - he and Diana had been through this journey together. It wouldn't be right for her to keep him from witnessing the biggest part of the journey so far. "Fine," she conceded. "As kahuna, I give you permission to follow them to the top. Tapu Fini will just have to deal with it."

Eli grinned. "Awesome."

"Have either of them ever played a flute before?" Hapu asked suddenly.

A loud, shrill racket from the top of the stairs told them both that they hadn't.

* * *

The girls had reached the top of the stairs together, and seeing the sun and moon symbols in front of platforms had told them what they needed to do without any instruction. Pulling out the flutes together, they agreed that they would start blowing together.

They waited as Rotom gave the countdown. Then, when he reached 1, they blew.

Nothing happened.

It took several seconds for them to figure out how to even get the flutes to make noise, and things did not get better when Eli showed up. Rotom hid in Eli's bag, where the sound was muffled by socks, and Eli clamped his hands over his ears and mentally complained that he should have stayed with Hapu.

Then, by some miracle, the amateur musicians managed to hit the same note at the same time. This note - this one, lone, horribly off-key note - was the one to activate whatever magic was at the altar and summon a ray of light and gust of wind, blowing hair and skirts and Eli's hat. Diana's bag moved, but Lillie's backpack snapped off her back and flew to the center, where the thing that might not have been Cosmog after all burst free.

And the music seemed to be enough to anger it.

Then, before anyone could say anything, the Pokémon they saw changed into a gigantic bat with a crescent-shaped head, rib cage showing through transparent skin and star shapes dripping from its wings. It swooped down to Lillie.

And then it put her backpack on her head. The startled blonde took a moment to recover, but she quickly yanked it back off to get a better look.

"Nebby," Lillie said quietly, only to be silenced by an angry sound from the Moon Flute as Diana reminded her to keep her promise. Lillie paid it no mind, though the Pokémon she addressed shot Diana a pained look. "You're all right. And so strong! I didn't think that you would evolve, especially not into the legendary Lunala."

Lunala chirped, and Rotom poked his head out of Eli's bag.

"I could have filmed that," he said sadly.

Eli patted him on the head. "Don't worry. I don't think people would believe it."

Lillie reached out to touch the Pokémon, and Lunala reached over to give her a fist bump. "Nebby, I want to see my mother."

Lunala looked over at Diana again, then back at Lillie. **"Give me a better name."**

Rotom did not translate that. Lillie seemed to get it anyway. "You...sided with Diana on that the entire time, didn't you?" Lunala nodded once, completely serious. "Fine. Please, Lunala. I need to see my mother."

That seemed doable. Lunala screeched, flew up high, and released a magic beam from its third eye, using it to open a portal.

Diana looked over at her cousin. "Well, Eli," she said after a moment, "if I don't get better powers than temperature resistance, our extraterrestrial genetics are _garbage._"

And then Lunala grabbed the three children and sped them into the portal.

* * *

There were coral-like trees growing high above their heads. There were glowing crystals poking out of caves. Everything around them was either a dark, unnerving green or radiant blue.

Lillie hugged herself against the cold that seemed to get stronger the deeper they went. For once in her life, Diana understood. The ice in her chest had returned, stronger than before, and she could feel her heart slamming against it. The beating pounded in her ears, and like any good scientist, her mind raced with questions.

If Ilima wasn't here, why was her heart pounding so hard? If she was cold, why were her palms sweating?

She couldn't be _afraid_, could she? She was Diana Freeman, urban legend investigator. Fear would only hold her back.

But she was light years away from anything familiar. This was, literally and figuratively, new territory. And her location hadn't been explored by anyone of a sound mind before, either.

"Are we on Xen?" Eli asked uncertainly.

Maybe it wasn't being explored by anyone of sound mind at the present moment, either.

"Xen?" Lillie repeated, more than a little concerned.

Eli looked around, on guard. "There's this guy in Kalos who's letting his girlfriend play Half-Life for videos," he explained. "She hasn't made it there yet, but he keeps bringing it up. I looked it up and the final levels are on an alien world called Xen. It looks a lot like this." He looked around. "Not as many corpses or killer monsters, though."

Lillie shivered from something other than the cold.

"Rotom..." she whispered, and the Pokedex turned briefly, the only one not affected by their current situation. "The Ultra Beasts...they aren't Ice-type, are they?"

"No," said Rotom, taking a picture of the new surroundings. "From what I observed last time, Grass-type attacks did neutral damage and Water-type attacks were super effective."

"But this isn't our world," Lillie argued back. She gestured to a crystal-like structure that wasn't there before, and it took Rotom a moment to recognize it. "There are icicles now. Unless you're saying that Eli's power is in reverse here..."

"That wouldn't explain why I feel cold," Diana whispered, clenching her fists so tightly her fingernails dug into her skin. "I don't notice outside temperature, remember?"

"And it doesn't explain why I'm still toasty warm," Eli added, through his teeth.

Lunala spoke, the roughness of its voice startling them all. "She says she has to stay," Rotom announced, and all three jumped back. _She?_

They didn't spend much time on it, however. "Then stay," Lillie said gently. "The three of us can find my mother."

Diana certainly hoped so. And she hoped it would be quick.

Eli just hoped he could find an abandoned gun.


	46. The Other Side

**While most people would use "Mother Knows Best" for Lusamine's villain song, nothing about it fits except for her being a mother. We chose a villain song that fits the situation exactly, or at least we think so. We chose "Friends on the Other Side" from Princess and the Frog.**

They hadn't found Lusamine yet. They were occasionally noticed by one of the jellyfish Ultra Beasts, but they backed off the first time Lillie hit one with her bag. Now they seemed to be watching, not particularly interested, as if the children were a television program that they had selected mostly for background noise.

Diana was grateful. Though her heartbeat had slowed to something resembling its normal pace and the cold had receded slightly, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle one getting too close.

Still, it was Lillie who screamed when something did get close, but by the time she'd finished her startled yelp she'd realized it was only Guzma. A very pale, shivering Guzma, who looked more scared than they'd ever seen him.

He locked eyes with Diana, and she was surprised to see that he seemed to be silently begging. "You. Girl. You beat her once, right? I want you to go knock some sense into that woman."

"It's not like it worked last time," Diana pointed out, and there was a slight shake in her own voice that matched Guzma's. "Last time she ran here, remember?"

"You gotta try," Guzma insisted. "I can't deal with this anymore. And she doesn't have any plans to give Team Skull superpowers!"

"Why did you even want them, anyway?" Eli asked. "Trust me, they're not as cool as they seem. Diana's are useless and mine made me an outcast. Unless you're a psychic or medium, you get mocked or ignored, and even that's because they're common as far as superpowers go."

"At least it's _something,_" Guzma insisted. "You destroy everything, but at least you'll be remembered. But what this is..." he shoved his hands in his pockets, pretending not to be afraid. "Look. I'm the boss of Team Skull. I've never been scared of nothing or nobody. Heck, I live my life making people scared of me."

"To varying success," Diana said, failing just as much in her attempt at snark.

"Cute, kid." He almost seemed sincere this time. Huh. Maybe Diana and Guzma had more in common than a shared favorite drink. "But seriously. If you want to go and continue this, listen to what big bad Guzma has to say." He took a deep breath and burst out with "Y'all are stupid!"

Eli, Lillie, and Rotom all facepalmed. Diana's eyes narrowed. "Says the man who chased a woman into a magic space hole, _after _admitting, _in song, _that she has no marbles, in the hopes of getting superpowers out of it."

"And you chased me here," he reminded her.

"Only to reunite Lillie with her mom."

Guzma's eyes moved to Lillie, who took a step back. He politely returned to Diana. "You think her disowned daughter can fix her? When she says that the beasts are her kids?"

"I have to try," Lillie insisted. "And if my mother is lost...then I can accept that. Gladion can run the Foundation. Wicke can look after us. Faba's definitely fired."

"I still say you should turn back and take me with you. Those beasts..." He suppressed a groan. "I tried catching one of 'em. Disappeared right before I got to it, and then...it possessed me! My mind went wild, and I became like a different person! I finally felt what fear was like! Golisopod got free to chase it off of me, but if those things didn't run on pure self preservation instinct...you kids would be goners."

"Judge us by our size, do you?" Diana forced a smile. "I'm the bane of Team Skull's existence. I've never been afraid of anything or anybody. Eli's spent his life making people scared of him." Guzma had to laugh at hearing his own words thrown back like that. "And you're stupid for thinking you can keep us out of anywhere."

"If you really think like that, I'm not gonna fight it. Just keep an eye out. I don't want to tell Hala that his grandson's friends are jellyfish flesh puppets."

And there went the pulse of her heart, picking up and pumping slush through her veins. Eli tugged her along, deciding to weaponize his fear to make an escape if it came to that. If it was possible here.

"Hypothesis," she whispered, not sure if even Rotom could hear. "The world of the Ultra Beasts suppresses human abilities. Send a psychic to test results."

She got no response.

* * *

Things got even weirder when they reached a dead end. One moment our heroes were looking around, preparing to take one of the less obvious paths, but the next Lusamine was there, accompanied by several Ultra Beasts.

"So you found me," she said, mouth twisted into what might have been a smile. Her eyes, the same shape and color as her son's, held none of Gladion's emotion - not even the irritation that usually accompanied Diana going through a spontaneous name change. "I can't blame you for wanting to come along. My beasts are magnificent creatures, aren't they?"

"That's a matter of opinion," Rotom snarked.

Lusamine jumped to her feet, but a jellyfish was faster. It slapped Rotom out of the air, and the Pokedex made a devastating crunching noise as it hit the ground. The startled Rotom fled from the mangled body, buzzing in irritation and possibly cussing the woman out in a language no one spoke. But even he fell silent when Lusamine hissed, the sound not coming out like a human imitating a vampire but almost exactly like a cornered Meowth. Diana knew that sound from a childhood spent dragging her mother's Meowth everywhere as protection.

She missed him. She wondered if her aunt was taking good care of him.

Rotom spun around to point it out to the others, waving his little lightning-shaped arms to emphasize a point, only for the same Ultra Beast to slap him again and return him to Diana's bag, where he poked out just enough to see. If Eli hadn't been suppressing a panic attack, he would have noticed that Rotom was making the exact face Diana made whenever she found a new topic of research. But, since his attention was completely concentrated on imagining baby Buneary, he didn't notice at all.

Lusamine wasn't done. She'd turned on Diana, as furious with the Pokedex carrier as she was with the Pokedex creature. "So you came to ruin it, then. My perfect world where only my love for Nihilego exists."

Nihilego? Is that what she was calling it now?

"It's not the only thing that exists," Lillie interrupted. "What about Mr. Guzma? Don't you care what happens to him?"

"Of course not," Lusamine answered immediately. "I don't care what happens to you or your brother, do I? You were imperfect children. Guzma was an imperfect sidekick. Only the Nihilego reach perfection. Therefore, only the Nihilego are worthy of my love."

"This isn't like you, Mother!" Lillie snapped. "You loved _us_! You taught me how to put the sauce on a pizza...you taught Gladion how to care for Pokémon. You taught both of us to read. You had to have cared about us!"

"And look where that got us!" Lusamine snapped back. "Two of the most important Pokémon ever to exist disappear from my lab when my children run away. You couldn't have loved me. Stop being a hypocrite."

"We did love you!" Lillie screamed. "We left because you went completely _insane! _Gladion said he left to save Type: Null. Why did you try to have them decommissioned?"

"The answer is simple. They were created to destroy Ultra Beasts." The mangled smile returned. "I needed to protect my precious children. And for that, I had to have those _abominations _destroyed."

"But didn't _you _say that an Ultra Beast was responsible for Father's accident?"

Lusamine hissed again, and they all knew that Lillie had hit a nerve. "Your father was a mortal man who crossed a line he wasn't meant to cross. He found that Cosmog. He brought Nihilego to our world. He gave me the greatest gift, even if he had to sacrifice himself to do it."

Lillie's eyes narrowed. "Is that why you ordered those 'abominations' to be created in the first place?"

Eli's concentration broke, but the shock trumped the terror. "Plot twist," he mumbled. "Lusamine's not responsible for her husband's accident, and tried to destroy the thing that was, but...now she's protecting them?"

Diana closed her eyes, trying to block out where she was and the strange, terrible feelings that had clung to her since she'd arrived. Something about it made sense...but what?

Her eyes snapped open at the realization. "Oh. Oh!" she tapped on Lillie's shoulder, distracting her friend for long enough to explain. "I've got it! It's a defense mechanism! Guzma said he became a different person until Golisopod snapped him out of it. He said they run on pure self-preservation instinct! It...it must be a psychic mindwave interference, or a neurotoxin, or freaky space pheromones, and humans can't harm it!" Her eyes lit up at the discovery, the ice melting away as her fear vanished. "Eli hasn't set anything on fire since we got here, but there were three separate fires when he first saw one of these things. They know what he's capable of, so they blasted out a dose that targeted him specifically!" She grinned. "Your mom's not nuts, Lillie! Well, actually, I wouldn't say _that, _but she's _drugged!"_

Lillie stared. Eli stared. Lusamine stared. "What kind of child are you?" Lusamine finally asked.

Diana smiled innocently. "One of a kind," she answered, as politely as she could fake. "I make it a point to study Pokémon, and if these aliens are pretending to be Pokémon, then I can pretend along with them." For her own sanity. For as long as it could go.

One Nihilego made a sound, and Lusamine straightened up. "You plan to make my Nihilego into _test subjects?"_

Diana quickly shook her head. "Um, no. Gonna have to pass on that. Hard. But, um, if I could just interview _you _about them, and you can answer with something other than how great they are..."

"Ok, Diana," Eli interrupted. "That's enough science out of you for now. Let's just get Mrs. Crazypants down from her high, and then maybe we can -"

Lusamine's eyes narrowed. "What did you call me?"

Eli froze, and Diana snapped back to attention - there was the scent of smoke again. There went her theory of disabling Eli's ability. "I...um..."

He couldn't finish the sentence. Lusamine didn't care. What Lillie was concerned about was the sound of vague music coming from somewhere in the depths of the cave, accompanied by her mother's song.

_"Don't you disrespect us now, boy!  
__It's not your place to decide  
__You're in my world now, not your world  
__And I've got friends on the other side."_

Yes, this really was happening. For the second time in the past week. Diana decided to just roll with it, pretending not to notice the unholy chorus of jellyfish doing acapella in the background, even as Lusamine picked up speed.

"_You've stepped through the portal  
__Now put your minds at ease  
__Here the Ultra Beasts are strong enough to do  
__Anything they please  
_

_"We've discussed the future  
__And in it, there's a lack of you  
__We can see into your heart and soul...  
__You do have a soul, right, Diana?"_ she asked suddenly.

Diana shrugged. Lusamine continued her musical number.

_"And we see what we must do  
__We've got numbers, we've got power  
__And things they're keeping a surprise!  
__So beware my friends on the other side."_

The Nihilego backup singers suddenly jumped in front of Diana, and her breath caught in her throat as she suppressed a yelp. She didn't like this, not one little bit. Lusamine just continued on.

_"Beware... Beware... those who trespass here  
__In this beautiful world filled with chaos and fear  
__The beasts... The beasts... they whisper to me  
__That your worthless lives can't matter to me..."_

Then Lusamine locked eyes with Diana, and she studied the girl with the same curiosity that Diana herself had once given the Totem Lurantis. Rotom snapped something at her, but neither of them paid attention.

_"You, I know, came from across the sea  
__To work for a man named after a tree  
__The professors are weird like that, aren't they?  
__Curiosity's high  
__But appeal is low  
__And there's so many things that you don't need to know."_

"I see Eli isn't the only one who's done research about their opponent," Diana said, trying very hard to keep the edge out of her voice. She was eyeing one particularly large icicle, long and thick and wrapped around a pointy rock in a way that it could be used as two weapons at once. It was so close, just a few steps away. If she could move... "But I'm sure you didn't need to. You seem to be a...smart woman."

Lusamine responded well to the compliment, but not well enough that the song or the possession stopped.

_"Can't you see, can't you see  
__That it's me you need  
__And with your brand of science, I'm sure you can help me."_

"I won't let that happen," Eli declared, and Lusamine turned on him, this time angry.

_"On you, young man, I don't want to waste my time  
__You're always in my face  
__You burned through my Foundation  
__Like it's a comic book mutation  
__And now, you little half-wit  
__You've nearly ruined space_

_"But in this future that I foresee  
__You'll be exactly where I really want you to be."_

Eli gulped, not liking where this was going. Lusamine turned back to Diana, the music now a hum from the Nihilego army. "Well. It seems you don't want to come willingly. But that's fine with me. I have a score to settle. Winner doesn't have to deal with Lillie ever again."

"But we want to deal with Lillie," Eli protested, but then the truth behind the statement hit him. "Oh. Right. You're gonna kill us."

Lusamine pulled out a blue and yellow Pokeball that Diana had never seen before, and opened it to reveal yet another Nihilego. The jellyfish flew up, and its fellow Ultra Beasts picked up the music again. Diana only realized what was happening when Lusamine opened her mouth, and once again, fear wrapped itself around her from the inside.

_"Are you ready?  
__Are you ready?  
__Time for my game-changer...  
__Add a bit of danger..."_

_"You're a monster!" _Diana interrupted, voice shaking in a way that made it seem like she was singing along.

Lusamine's mangled smile turned maniacal. "Oh, really?"

_"A monster, a monster, a monster you say...  
__I hope you're satisfied.  
__The monster here, it isn't me  
__They're my friends on the other side!"_

Lusamine cackled wildly as her pet Nihilego lowered itself down. She reached for it, and Rotom jumped in front of Lillie as if his small body could protect her from witnessing it. When the transformation finished, Diana's heart dropped into the floor.

The jellyfish-woman was no longer Lusamine. It had her body, but it was the Ultra Beast entirely. Her blonde hair had turned black, and this fusion was much bigger than either of its component creatures. Wide, unnervingly gold eyes locked onto Diana, and the beast licked her lips.

**"Freeman,"** she said, speaking well enough that Diana could understand despite the low, scratchy voice.

Diana felt her lungs take in a sharp breath.

The icicles surrounding them caught fire.

And Diana let it all out in a scream.

* * *

This was too much to handle.

Diana was shaking, hyperventilating, and the Nihilego army was coming closer. Lillie watched her closely, knowing that she was related to the infamous Frost - it wouldn't have surprised her if there was a physical manifestation of Diana's first experience with fear, a reference to her cousin's well-known habit of spontaneous non-human combustion every time he got spooked.

Speaking of the cousin...

"Diana." He stepped between Diana and the Lusabeast, grabbed the former's shoulders, and gave her a hard shake. "Diana, listen to me. Lunala dragged four of us through the portal, and one of us is Rotom, so that leaves three. We need to be strong, so that leaves the two of us. And I'm Eli Frost. This is down to you, because I just _actually_ set fire to _ice! _I'm three seconds from a complete breakdown myself, and questioning the laws of physics is what's keeping it at bay. I even think I whizzed my pants, but I'm too afraid to look, and that is literally fueling the fire."

Lillie quickly looked for him. "You're good," she said, and returned to the more pressing issue at hand.

Diana didn't pay attention to that exchange. Eli was right. She could panic later. The fear wasn't going away, but she was Diana Freeman. She was a scientist. A scientist wouldn't hesitate to charge into the unknown, so she should take a deep breath, let it go, and pretend she wasn't facing the reality that impossible things were happening. She could pretend that this was just a bad dream, and if it was a bad dream, she could assume some degree of control over it. Never enough to change the situation, but enough to change the outcome.

The fear was still present, but she could fight it. The flaming icicles melted, putting out Eli's fire, and the jellyfish dared to get closer.

"Stop that," she ordered, flicking her wrist at one. It shrunk back, its body language clearly alarmed. Lusabeast jumped back, too - apparently, neither of its component creatures believed that someone would stand up to it.

Diana thought back to what Eli had said about the incident at Team Skull's hideout. He'd channeled his fear into confidence, told himself that he was Stella Frost's son and that weather was in his blood. Well, she was Luna Freeman's daughter, and if her mother's natural good luck was as genetic as her sister's connection to lightning, Diana would have no problem weaponizing this new emotion.

A frantic laugh came from the young scientist, and though her blood still felt like slush in her veins, she was determined to go down swinging.

She sprinted to the ice-covered rock and held it like a dagger in her dominant hand, reaching for a Pokeball with the other. "Pick your fight, Lusabeast," she said, barely holding back the urge to spit. "This doesn't seem to be melting, and I can hold it for _hours._ I've seen enough movies to know how to use it." Lusabeast raised a tentacle as if to strike, but Diana pointed the icicle at her, and Lusabeast froze. "I'm _not _bluffing."

She was bluffing. Fortunately, Lusabeast didn't seem to understand that, and stood back, contemplating.

Then she released her first Pokémon, and Diana pointed her weapon down but did not let go. She tossed out the Pokeball in her hand, and Mimikyu took his place in front of her.

This was an outcome she knew. This was, more importantly, a battle she'd won before.

* * *

It hadn't been quite like this last time. The Nihilego had given Lusamine's other Pokémon the same strange aura the Totem Pokémon had, except there were five of them in a row. Still, Diana had faced enough of them to be prepared.

The Clefable, like before, seemed to rely on Metronome to deal with Mimikyu. There was a moment where, after a Metronomed Ice Fang landed, Mimikyu was as frozen as Diana felt, but when it turned out that the ice had only broken the disguise he wore, he once again attacked it with Shadow Claw.

Then Clefable Metronomed an attack called Sunsteel Strike, and Mimikyu was out. Stanford quickly avenged him, and thanks to Lillie's warning, Diana switched him out for Honchkrow to deal with the Mismagius. Mismagius fell with a single Night Slash, giving Diana the lead. Stanford came back out to take care of the Milotic, and one Leaf Blade meant another win for Diana, even if the Decidueye did get hit by a Hydro Pump first. The Lilligant left him confused, but he still knew Peck from his time as a Flying-type.

As for the Bewear...that was a tough battle.

Not in the same way that Hapu's Mudsdale had been tough. Mudsdale had been hard to damage, but the Bewear's use of Pain Split made everything very annoying. Diana eventually gave up on using Stanford, and had to switch to her own Bewear, which ended as well as it did the first time they had a Bewear showdown - Lusamine's victory. Diana then brought out Poliwhirl, who, thanks to understanding when Diana let him nearly lose the battle thanks to continuous Pain Split attacks, finally took down the Bewear with a simple flurry of Bubblebeam.

When the battle was over, Lusabeast froze. For the first time since arriving, Diana saw conflict.

For the first time in years, Lusamine _felt _conflict - the loving mother breaking through just enough to realize that she was willing to kill her children's friends.

That's right! Lillie had _friends...__Gladion_ had friends_..._

Their happiness was what she wanted. She was a good mother. She wanted her children to be safe and happy.

The Nihilego were her children, the beast reminded her. They acted sheepish when she ranted about her husband's fate...they'd let her open up to them. All they'd wanted in return was protection. To make sure nothing could do them harm. Not even the vile monsters that she'd built to destroy them.

The vile monster that her son had stolen. Gladion was no longer her child. His happiness did not matter. And the girl had led the destructive duo into Nihilego's perfect world. Lillie was no longer her child. She was a trespasser.

Lusamine took a fraction too long to realize what was happening, but a very loud, very human cry of "Caw, caw, suckers!" and Guzma arrived on Lunala's back, jumping off to let the bat save the day as Lusamine realized, to her horror, that the tentacles surrounding her hands had been reaching for her daughter's throat.

She jumped back in horror as the Nihilego ejected itself to defend itself. Lunala's psychic power lifted something from her mind that Lusamine didn't remember putting there.

Then, for the first time in years, Lusamine saw things as they truly were.

A terrified girl dressed in blue and white, holding an icicle as if it were a dagger while a weakened Poliwhirl stood in front of her protectively. A boy with dark hair, his eyes darting around the area as if searching for the nearest exit. A Rotom looking sadly at a piece of broken technology. A man picking up the broken technology carefully, as if not wanting to miss a single piece. A giant bat with a crescent-shaped head, giving her a death glare.

_Am I...the bad guy?_

A pain in her head overshadowed the pain in her heart, and the last human of the group stepped forward. Tall, blonde, and concerned, but more for Lusamine herself than anyone else.

Of course she recognized her. "Lillie?"

Lillie's eyes filled with tears as she nodded. This was the Lusamine she remembered. "Yes, Mother?"

Lusamine smiled weakly, not at all the mangled or maniacal grins she'd given before. "Always remember to make plenty of room...for love...and expired tomato sauce."

And then Lusamine lost consciousness.


End file.
